The Lost Daughter
by Amalthea-Shine
Summary: While on a mission/vacation to Sutos, the team learns a bit about their old friend Wilder, and a long-forgotten figure from Sophie's past shows up.
1. Chapter 1

I just had this crazy idea, so I decided to write about it.

Summary: While on a mission/vacation to Sutos, the team learns a bit about their old friend Wilder, and a long-forgotten figure from Sophie's past shows up.

Disclaimer: I do not own Huntik.

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Chapter 1: The beginning.

**Fourteen years ago**

A twenty-year-old man wearing a dark suit walked down the streets of Paris, combing his sleek blond hair.

_I can't believe I'm finally in_ he thought to himself _and finally out._

Zack Wilder had just recently been accepted into the ranks of the Organization. He'd received his first Titan to bond with and a paycheck to give him a head start, since he didn't have much. Right now, he was looking at apartments in various cities where the Organization had bases. He had searched the Czech Republic, Spain, and Italy, and now he was touring France. The Organization bosses who ran the operations in the countries he had gone to were getting annoyed, but Wilder just hadn't found that place that said "Home" to him.

Of course, he had no idea what it was like to have a real home, so he didn't really know what exactly he was looking for. Having been in the foster system in the U.S. since he was born, he'd been moved around from one house and horrible set of foster parents to another. As soon as he had turned 18, he'd taken the money he had collected over the years, some of it from various jobs he'd had over the years and some of it stolen from the most terrible of his foster parents, and purchased himself a ticket to Europe.

Once there, he had bounced around for a bit before he ended up picking a fight with the wrong people. Left for dead, Wilder had been rescued by a group of Organization suits and offered the chance to join them. He'd had to prove his worth, of course, but he'd gotten through it.

Wilder was in the middle of a flashback, remembering when he had first met the Professor and pledged his loyalty to the Organization, when he heard a noise. Stopping in his tracks, he listened. There it was again! It almost sounded like. . . crying? Wilder slowly and cautiously went towards the noise. He rounded the corner into an alley and stopped short.

In front of him, crouched down on the ground with her knees pulled up to her chest, was a little girl. She had long, light brown hair, pale skin, and wore a teal dress that was ruined by soot and scorch marks. She looked up when she heard Wilder approach. Her green eyes were rimmed with red from crying, and her tears had cleaned the soot from her face where they had fallen, leaving trail marks. She couldn't have been more than four or five.

"Are you okay?" Wilder asked in a soft voice so as not to scare her. The girl tried to scoot away from him, but fell. Wilder saw that she was injured, her legs having been badly burned. "It's alright. I won't hurt you." The girl stopped trying to get away. "What's your name?"

"I don't know," the little girl replied in a voice so quiet Wilder almost didn't hear her.

"You don't know your name?" Wilder asked. The girl shook her head. "Where are your parents?" The girl shook her head again and resumed her crying. Wilder reached out a hand towards her and she backed away quickly, stumbling on her injured legs. "You're hurt. I have to get you to a hospital. Maybe we can find your parents. Will that be alright?" He held out his hand. The girl looked back and forth from his face to his hand, then slowly reached out her own hand and placed it in his.

Wilder helped her to her feet, but could see that she wouldn't be able to do much walking on those legs. It was also starting to rain a little bit. He took off his jacket and wrapped it around the girl, then picked her up and started walking. It wasn't long before she fell asleep. Wilder was able to get a cab and asked the driver to take him to the nearest hospital.

"Something wrong with your daughter, sir?" the driver asked.

"She's not my daughter," Wilder replied, looking at the sleeping girl in his arms.

"A relative of some sort, then?"

"No."

"Then who is she?" The driver was giving him a suspicious look.

"I don't know," Wilder answered. "She doesn't remember her name and it looks like she just came out of a fire. I'm hoping to find her family as soon as her injuries are taken care of."

"Don't get your hopes up," the driver told him. "Most likely, she's an orphan. Her parents probably died in the same fire. It's best you just drop her off at an orphanage. There's one not far from here. They'll take care of her."

"I'm paying you to take me to the hospital," Wilder said through clenched teeth, "so take me to the hospital."

"Okay, okay." The driver dropped the subject, and the cab was quiet. The only sound to be heard was the girl's soft snoring.

They reached the hospital soon after that. Wilder paid the driver and walked in, immediately getting the attention of the nurses to come look at the girl.

* * *

Two weeks later, Wilder walked through the doors of an orphanage, the same one the taxi driver had spoken of.

The hospital had been unable to locate the mystery girl's family, so she had been sent to the orphanage. Wilder frowned as he took a good look at the place.

_Looks almost exactly like the one I was in_ Wilder thought _when I was in between foster families._

In other words, this was no place for a child to grow up in. Wilder's heart went out to all the children here, but especially the girl he'd found.

She had no real memory of her name. Each time she was asked, her answer changed back and forth from "Rena" to "Rennie" or something similar. After arriving at the orphanage, she had been given the name Scarlet, after the scars that the burns would leave on her legs. Wilder did not like that name at all, more for the reason than for the name itself.

He entered a courtyard where a bunch of kids were playing and looked around. He spotted Scarlet sitting by herself on a bench by the back wall, staring at her shoes. She was wearing a dull gray dress and her legs were still bandaged. He started to walk over to her.

"May I help you?"

Wilder turned to see the orphanage caretaker standing there. The old woman was giving him a curious look.

"I'm here to see Scarlet," Wilder answered.

"We have more than one 'Scarlet' here," the woman said in a patient voice. "Which one are you referring to?"

"The one who came here not two weeks ago," he answered. "The one with the burns on her legs. I'm the one who found her and took her to the hospital." The woman smiled.

"Ah, yes," she said. "That Scarlet. Adorable little girl, but not very social. She's right over there." The woman pointed to where Scarlet was sitting.

"Thank you." Wilder began walking across the courtyard. Quite a few of the children stopped and stared at him as he passed them. He ignored them. He just kept walking until he was right in front of Scarlet. She looked up as soon as he stopped.

She had been crying again. Her face was just as sad as it had been the day Wilder had found her, but, when she saw him, her whole face lit up. She jumped down from the bench and reached out to hug him. He knelt down and hugged her back.

He sat there with her, and they talked until the bell rang for the children to come inside. He held her hand as he walked with her, but let go when they were in the hallway.

"Hey!" Scarlet exclaimed, reaching for his hand again.

"Sorry, kid," Wilder said. "I have to go." Scarlet's smile disappeared.

"You're leaving?" she asked. Her voice sounded as if she might cry again.

"Don't worry," Wilder told her. "I'll be back."

The look on Scarlet's face told him that she didn't believe him. She turned and walked away with the other kids. Watching her, Wilder thought back to all the people who had come to the orphanage to talk to him, people he thought would adopt him, and the pain he felt watching them leave without him. He thought about all the foster homes he had been in, going from place to place, never settling down somewhere he could call home. He thought about the awful life he'd had, a life that was now undoubtedly in store for Scarlet.

With those thoughts going through his head, he made up his mind.

* * *

**Eleven years ago**

"AAAAAHHHHHHH!"

The familiar scream woke Wilder up in the middle of the night. He threw off the covers and made his way towards the bedroom across the hall. Opening the door, he saw a little seven-year-old girl in practically the exact same position she had been in when he'd found her.

"Renee?"

When Wilder had filled out the adoption papers, three years ago, he had decided to name the girl Renee, as it was very close to the answers she had given when asked her name. Not very creative, but it was at least better than Scarlet.

Renee looked up, her tear-stained face just visible in the moonlight shining through her window.

"Daddy!" she shouted when she saw him, racing out of bed and over to him. He knelt down and let her throw her arms around him. He picked her up and held her close as she cried into his shoulder.

"Did you have that nightmare again?" he asked. He felt her nod.

Every year, around the time he had found her, Renee would get terrible nightmares that always had something to do with fire: huge, towering flames that were destroying everything in sight. Wilder thought they might've had something to do with the condition she'd been in when he found her. Renee didn't remember anything about her past, not even her own name, but she seemed to remember something horrible that had to do with fire.

"It's okay," he whispered into his daughter's ear. "Shh. You're alright. I'm right here."

Wilder stayed with her, holding her and rocking her gently, until she fell asleep. Even after he had tucked her back into bed, he sat down and watched her the rest of the night, just like he did every year, prepared to chase away those nightmares if they even thought about coming back to hurt his daughter.

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How was that for a first chapter? Yes, it's the Wilder you're thinking of. As for his first name, I had a friend in elementary school named Zack Wilder, so I thought "What the heck? Why not?"

Review and tell me what you think.


	2. Chapter 2

JaneNero: Glad you loved it. What do you mean by "Poor Renee"?

Nina Vale: We really don't know much about him, but that's what makes it easy to write about him in a different light than what we see in the show, to write about a side of him that we don't see.

Disclaimer: I do not own "Huntik."

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Chapter 2: Then and Now

**2 years ago**

Wilder woke up and looked at the clock standing on the desk next to his bed. It read 6:52 in the morning. The alarm was set for seven.

_Eight more minutes of sleep _he thought, and closed his eyes again. Two seconds later the door flew open, and a heavy weight deposited itself next to him. _So much for that._

"Dad, come on," he heard his sixteen-year-old daughter's voice say. "We're on vacation to have fun, not sleep in."

"Renee," Wilder mumbled into his pillow, "we have two weeks to have fun, and it's our first day. We have plenty of time."

"But there's so much to do," Renee protested. "Two weeks isn't enough. C'mon. We still have to hike all the way into town."

"It's not that far away and we're both pretty good hikers," Wilder said. "It won't take us that long to get there."

"But there's that festival going on today," Renee reminded him. "If we wait too long, all the fun stuff will be over."

"There's still all that shopping you could do," Wilder said, "plus all the food vendors. You'll be stopping me every five seconds to try something new."

"Exactly," Renee said, "so we better get there early so that we can see, do, and try it all."

"Five more minutes."

Wilder waited for a response, but didn't get one. That didn't surprise him, though. He knew exactly what was happening. Renee was still there, watching the clock and waiting until five minutes had passed, after which she would either pull the covers off of him or jump up and down on the bed. This had happened so many times before that he was used to it.

Sure enough, after five minutes, he felt a certain teenage girl pull the covers off of him, revealing his white tank top and purple pajama shorts. He reacted by picking up his pillow and throwing it at his laughing daughter. He was used to her wake-up methods, but that didn't mean he had to like them.

Renee, still laughing, picked up the fallen pillow and threw it back at her father. Running out of the room before he could start a pillow fight, she closed the door behind her. Wilder laughed at his daughter's antics before climbing out of bed and walking over to his closet.

Ten minutes later, he walked out of the room in a loose shirt, khaki pants, hiking boots, and a small backpack. Walking into the living room, he saw Renee dressed in a similar manner. The only difference was that her hair was pulled back in a ponytail. His daughter was double-checking her to-do list for today, as well as making sure she had her money and camera, as well as an English-Mandarin dictionary.

"Are you ready?" Wilder asked, even though he knew the answer. Renee looked up and smiled.

"I've been ready for the past thirty minutes," she said. "I'm the one who should be asking you that question."

"Let's go then."

The pair slipped on their backpacks and slipped out of the house, making their way to the path that would take them into the village.

* * *

Later that afternoon, the pair was walking on that same path, but in the opposite direction. Feet aching, stomachs full to near bursting, and backpacks almost overflowing with souvenirs, they were both done for the day.

"I am so sleeping in tomorrow," Renee said in a tired voice. Wilder smiled.

"Perhaps you shouldn't have woken up so early," he said. Renee gave him a half-hearted glare.

"I think we both agree that we got some pretty awesome deals today."

Before her father could respond, the trees rustled behind them. Wilder turned around, and all he saw was a blur before something hard hit him in the head and knocked him out.

* * *

When Wilder came to, he was alone. Renee's backpack was lying on the ground next to him, but there was no sign of Renee. He stood up slowly, shaking the dizziness from his head, picked up Renee's backpack, and looked around.

"Renee!" Wilder called out. "Renee! RENEE!"

He kept calling her name until he couldn't shout anymore. He then ran until he reached the small house he had rented and nearly took out the door running inside. He searched every room, calling out his daughter's name. When she didn't answer, he pulled out his cell phone and dialed her number. Her backpack started ringing and he hung up. He ran outside and tried calling her name again, even though he sounded like a walrus trying to sing opera. Collapsing onto the ground, he hugged his daughter's backpack to his chest and cried until his eyes were dry.

* * *

**Present Day**

Wilder stood on the beach of Sutos Island, staring at the water. His eyes were wet with tears that had yet to fall. He took a picture out of his pocket and looked down at it.

This picture had been taken the week before they'd gone on their trip to China. A street photographer had asked if he could take their picture, and they'd happily said yes. They had started by posing side-by-side, smiling at the camera, but that hadn't lasted long. At the last minute, Renee had jumped onto Wilder's back and tickled his neck. He had started laughing, which in turn had made Renee laugh. By the time they had gotten their giggles under control, the photographer had taken the picture.

Renee had been wearing her favorite teal shirt and a pair of blue jeans, which hid the scars on her legs that were all that remained of the burns she'd had when Wilder had found her. The scars had faded over time, but she still didn't like to show them. Her long, wavy, light-brown hair went halfway between her shoulders and the middle of her back, and had a teal streak in the front on her right side. The picture showed the two of them with big, goofy smiles on their faces and laughter in their eyes. This picture showed how his daughter always was and showed a side of Wilder that only Renee ever saw.

_Renee _Wilder thought sadly. _Another year has gone by, and I'm no closer to finding you than I was back then. _The tears started to fall.

It had been two whole years since Renee had disappeared. Wilder had searched desperately for her, checking all over the village they had been to the day she vanished and the surrounding areas, as well as her friends' houses and all her favorite places around the city when he got back home. He used any and all powers he had available to him, but he couldn't find her.

Wilder had never told anyone in the Organization about her, so there was no one he could turn to that could help him find her. He had risen quickly in the Organization's ranks after that day, gaining followers and growing stronger. It still wasn't enough. He didn't have the resources available to find out just what exactly had happened to his daughter and where she was now.

After the defeat of the Professor, Wilder had seized his chance and tried to take control. As leader of the Organization, he would have been given access to information that was once denied him. With that, he could find out what had happened to Renee and how to find her, if she was even still alive and wanted to be found. Wilder shook his head.

_Don't think like that _he thought angrily to himself. _Renee's a tough girl. She wouldn't have let anyone take her so easily and she wouldn't have just run away. Maybe she's out there right now, trying to find me._

Wilder had those same thoughts every time his daughter came to his mind. He tried to be optimistic, but, with each passing day and false lead, his hope was diminishing. He glanced at the sea one last time before turning away and walking back to the mansion.

* * *

Unknown to Wilder, Grier had been watching him the whole time he'd been out there.

_This isn't like him _Grier thought. _Something's wrong, and I need to find out what it is before he does something drastic._

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How was that? Did you like it? I'll explain what happened to Renee in future chapters. For now, review and tell me what you think.


	3. Chapter 3

Nina Vale: I'll let you figure that out in future chapters.

D.N.S Akina: Glad you love it.

Disclaimer: I do not own "Huntik."

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Chapter 3: New Mission

The whole team was relaxing at Sophie's house. She and Lok had graduated from high school the previous week, and Dante had promised a special mission for them as a reward. They were just waiting for the call. Right now, they were eating the ice cream sundaes that Zhalia had fixed for them.

"They never let us have anything sweet like this in the Blood Spiral," Harrison said as he ate a spoonful of vanilla with peanut butter sauce and candy pieces.

"All the more reason to stay in the Huntik Foundation," Den said as he dug into his sundae of fruity candy.

"You know, Sophie," Lok said to the girl with the chocolate sundae, "we joined the Foundation two years ago around this time." He took another bite of his own sundae, which had a little bit of everything.

"That's right," Sophie replied. "You wanted me to help you study for finals, but then we found your father's journal and were ambushed by Suits."

"Good thing you weren't ambushed this year," Cherit commented as he dug into a sundae that was the same as Lok's. "You needed all the help you could get." Everyone but Lok laughed at that.

"You may have graduated high school," Zhalia said as she ate her own sundae, which was a copy of Sophie's, "but there's still college to think about." Lok groaned.

"Don't worry, Lok," Sophie told him. "The Foundation has dozens of universities around the world, with courses designed to suit your interests and even let you earn credits by going on missions."

"In that case, I'll have graduated within one year." Sophie rolled her eyes at Lok's comment.

Just then, the wide-screen TV started beeping. Dante was calling.

"Answer it! Answer it!" the boys cried as Sophie reached for the remote. Pressing the right button, Dante's smiling face appeared.

"Hey, everyone," he said.

"Hi, Dante," the team replied.

"Lok, Sophie, congratulations on graduating high school. I can't believe it's been two years since you two joined the Foundation. I still remember the day we first met."

"We were just talking about that," Lok said.

"So what's this reward you've been telling us about?" Zhalia asked.

"Just a little vacation to Sutos Island," Dante answered. "I've made all the arrangements with Grier," he continued after the teens had stopped cheering. "Seaside apartments, fantastic swimming and surfing, and all the seafood you can stomach." The teens once again broke out in cheers.

"You said there was a mission behind this?" Zhalia asked when the noise had died down.

"Yes. You'll be investigating the legend of the Hippocampus."

"The mythical water horses that pulled the chariot of Poseidon, the god of the seas," Sophie said in an excited voice.

"That's right," Dante said. "You'll meet with someone on the island who knows quite a bit about the legend. He'll guide you to the titan's location. Take your time, though. You have two whole weeks to complete the mission."

The teens said their goodbyes and raced off to start packing. Zhalia sighed before she and Cherit said their own goodbyes. Dante smiled at them before closing the transmission.

* * *

Two days later saw the team on a boat headed for Sutos. The boys were dressed in swim trunks and T-shirts while the girls wore bikinis under their clothes, Sophie wearing a sun dress and Zhalia wearing loose pants and a tank top. All of them wore flip-flops on their feet.

"So this place we're going to," Harrison began. "You've all been here before?"

"Zhalia and I have only been here once," Den answered. "Lok and Sophie have been here twice."

"The first time we were on a mission for the Foundation," Sophie told Harrison. "The second time we were looking for something to help us fight the Blood Spirals."

"Details." Harrison leaned forward. He was always eager to hear about the team's past missions.

"The first time we came to Sutos," Sophie explained, always ready to tell a story, "we were looking for Jason's ship, the Argo, and his titans, the Hoplites. Sutos had been in a civil war for ten years, but the day we arrived was the same day the Organization took over. They were led by Grier, a man we had encountered several times in the past when he was working for Defoe." Harrison nodded. He had heard all about Defoe. "As it turns out, Grier is actually the prince of Sutos, the son of its leader who died ten years earlier, sending the island into civil war. Grier joined the Organization in hopes of taking back the island one day. We made our peace with him that day and completed our mission.

"The second time we came here, we were asking Grier for help."

"I thought you said you were looking for something to fight the Blood Spirals," Harrison questioned.

"Right," Sophie said. "We were hoping Grier could give us something that could help us defeat Rassimov. He led us to the Professor's castle, where we found files that the old leader of the Organization had kept on Rassimov. That was before we fought you and him in Egypt."

"So that's how you were able to defeat him," Harrison observed. Sophie nodded. "But you didn't know about Legion."

"Which is why we lost in the end," Sophie said. "We were unprepared to fight such a titan."

"I wonder if we'll run into Wilder while we're here," Den thought out loud, trying to change the subject and forget about the time when his brother had fought against him.

"Who's Wilder?" Harrison asked.

"A member of the Organization," Cherit answered. "After we defeated the Professor, he tried to take control. We've fought him several times."

"The last time we saw him," Den said, "was at the Professor's castle. He tried to take the files on Rassimov."

"What happened to him?" Harrison asked.

"Grier defeated him and brought him back here," Lok said. "Maybe we will see him."

"Approaching the dock," Zhalia called over her shoulder from her place at the wheel. "Grab your luggage and prepare to go ashore."

The teens didn't listen. Instead, they walked to the front of the boat and watched as the island grew closer. Zhalia rolled her eyes.

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So what did you think? Don't worry. Wilder will show up in the next chapter. Until then, please review.


	4. Chapter 4

Nina Vale: As River Song always says, "Spoilers." I'm not saying anything.

NumberOneVIP: Like I told Nina Vale, I'm not saying anything. The two of you will just have to be patient.

(P.S. Muahahahahahahahaha!)

Disclaimer: I do not own "Huntik."

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Chapter 4: Arriving on Sutos

Zhalia turned off the boat while the team grabbed their luggage. Walking onto the dock, they saw Prince Grier waiting for them, in full royal garb.

"Welcome to Sutos," he said in his warmest voice. "I hope you enjoy your stay."

"You sound like a tour guide," Zhalia joked, and the whole team laughed.

"Zhalia Moon, Lok Lambert, Sophie Casterwill, and Den Fears, and this must be Harrison."

"What's with the costume?" Harrison asked with a smile. Den elbowed him in the ribs. "Ow!"

"Sorry about my brother," Den said. "He has a tendency to insult people without realizing it."

"That's alright," Grier said, wearing a smile of his own. "Even Dante laughed when he first saw me wearing this."

"You two were still enemies then," Lok said. "I'd laugh too if I saw my enemy wearing a silly costume. You should've seen Rassimov's wardrobe change."

"Talk about a drama queen," Cherit added. Everyone laughed.

Grier led them over to two cars, where the same two soldiers they had rescued from the Blood Spirals were waiting to load their luggage and drive them to where they would be staying. It was a small house on the beach, but close enough that it could still be seen from the mansion. As soon as the cars stopped, the kids all raced out and towards the house in hopes of claiming the best room. They all tried to cheat by using their powers, which resulted in a dog pile and Zhalia claiming the best room for herself. Grier watched it all with an amused smile on his face.

The house was very comfortable, consisting of three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen, a dining room, and a living room. Due to the shortage of rooms, Sophie paired up with Zhalia while Den and Harrison shared. Cherit said that he would keep Lok company, but everyone knew that the titan didn't really sleep

"Aside from Sophie's house," Harrison said, "this is the nicest place I've ever stayed in."

"It sure beats living at the orphanage," Den agreed.

"So, who's this expert that's supposed to lead us to the Titan?" Sophie asked Grier. The boys groaned.

"Seriously, Sophie?" Lok asked from where he was lounging on the couch. "Our first day of vacation and already you want to get to work?" Sophie rolled her eyes.

"If we get the mission done now," she began, "then we can relax the rest of the time we're here, rather than procrastinating and having to scramble to get it done before we leave."

"She has a point," Cherit said. Lok responded by throwing a pillow at him.

"It's actually someone you know," Grier said, answering Sophie's question. "You all remember Wilder, right?"

"We were just talking about him on our way here," Den said.

"Don't tell me he's the expert on the Hippocampus," Zhalia said in her usual sarcastic voice.

"Surprising, I know," Grier told her. "But he knows more about the Titan than anyone else on this island. Just keep an eye on him while you're retrieving it. He tried to escape again a few days ago."

"Again?" Sophie repeated. "He's tried to escape before?"

"Several times," Grier answered.

"How many times counts as 'several'?"

"I lost count after 30."

"He's been here barely six months and he's already tried that many escape attempts?" Den asked. "He really doesn't want to be here."

"Is he thinking about swimming?" Cherit asked from his place at the window. "Because he seems pretty interested in the water."

Rather than ask what he meant, the team and Grier joined him at the windows and looked out. Sure enough, Wilder was standing on the beach. His white suit having been disposed of upon his arrival, he now wore a long-sleeved tan shirt and brown pants. He was too far away for them to see, but he had recently gotten a second piercing in his right ear. They _could_ see that he was holding some sort of paper in his hand.

"He's not stupid enough to try swimming to the mainland," Grier said, "but his escape attempts have been getting rather desperate lately. Something's bothering him." Grier's mind flashed back to a conversation he'd had with Wilder after his latest attempt.

**Two days ago**

Grier stepped into the dungeons, walking past the cells until he reached one near the back. He looked inside and saw Wilder laying on the cot and looking at the ceiling.

"I'd thought you would have given up by now," Grier said. Wilder didn't even look at him.

"Not a chance," he said.

"You're not making this any easier on yourself," Grier told him.

"Bite me."

"Why do you keep trying to escape?"

"Because I hate it here and I want to get back to my life."

"You mean you want to get back to trying to become leader of the Organization." Wilder let out a little laugh.

"Oh, please," he scoffed. "I never wanted to be a leader. It was just a stepping stone on the road to getting me what I really want."

"And what is that?" Grier asked.

"I don't have to tell you anything," was the response he got. Grier sighed.

"I remember you, Wilder," he began. "You didn't used to be like this. I remember hearing about you ditching missions early because you said you had somewhere to be, something more important to do."

"Because I did."

"You spent thousands of dollars on pairs of plane tickets, yet no one ever knew who the other ticket was for," Grier continued, ignoring Wilder's comment. "You never lived on an Organization base. You refused to answer any questions on where you were and what you were doing. I heard rumors that you were going to be eliminated because you were considered a threat.

"And then, two years ago, you changed. You completed a record amount of missions in one month. When you weren't on a mission, you were training. You also spent a lot of time using the Organization's resources, yet no one ever figured out what exactly you were doing with what you learned, or didn't learn. You stepped in to become leader practically the second the Professor was defeated, and yet you say that that's never what you wanted. What happened two years ago, Wilder, that made you the way you are now?"

To Grier's surprise, Wilder sat up and glared at him after he had finished speaking. He thought it might have been a trick of the light, but he could have sworn he saw tears in Wilder's eyes.

"None of your business!" Wilder shouted at him. "Leave me alone!" With that, he flopped back down and refused to say another word. Grier watched him for a minute before walking away.

**Present Day**

"Just be careful when you're with him," Grier told the team, "and don't forget to enjoy yourselves these next two weeks."

With that, they said their goodbyes to the prince and started unpacking. Sophie looked back at Wilder one last time before going to unpack her own suitcase.

On the beach, Wilder kept looking at the picture of his daughter, fiddling with the second earring in his right ear.

_I will find you, Renee _he thought. _They can't keep me locked up forever._

#$% #$^#$%*%$^*^&amp;*(*^^#$%! #$% %^^&amp;*^*$#$%&amp;^!#%$~%$#!%^ ^

How was that? If you're wondering about the earrings, they do have a special significance which will be explained in future chapters.

Please review.


	5. Chapter 5

Nina Vale: Huh? If you're talking about River appearing in my story, sorry but this isn't a crossover. If you're talking about River appearing in "Doctor Who," we all want to see more of her.

D.N.S Akina: Uh… are you asking a question?

Disclaimer: I do not own "Huntik."

# !$# ^%&amp;%*(&amp;)&amp;%^$%&amp;^!# %$$^&amp;*(&amp;^^ % ~$##%&amp;^(^*%$ ^%~ #

Chapter 5: Caught

Night had fallen on Sutos Island. All was quiet. The lights were out, animals were penned up, and everyone was asleep in their beds.

Well, not everyone.

Making its way to shore was a dolphin, with a figure holding on to its fin and letting the dolphin pull them across the water. When the dolphin couldn't go any further, the figure let go and started wading onto the beach. The dolphin stayed where it was as the figure walked away, waiting for its rider to come back.

The figure quickly, but carefully, made its way towards the town. It didn't plan to get that far; it was just logical to head that direction. The plan was to stop at any farms or houses it saw along the way and get whatever supplies it needed. It hated stealing from people, but it had no money and it couldn't show itself to others. If it could, it would have gladly worked for anyone willing to hire for a day. Sadly, that wasn't the case.

It came upon a farm fairly quickly. The farm was a decent size, with a barn, a few corrals, and a large garden. The garden was the figure's first stop. Using what little light the moon gave, the figure picked out ripe fruits and vegetables that it could easily eat raw and without any tools, and that it could put into the bag it brought and not have anything it picked be too squashed. That was mostly tomatoes, carrots, beans, and berries; the berries it ate immediately since it was starving.

The barn was next. Upon entering, the figure smiled. In several of the stalls were horses, its favorite animal. It walked quietly, not wanting to disturb the sleeping horses, but took the time to look at and admire each one it passed. It could see that they were well cared for, which made it think very well of the horses' owner and made it feel even more guilty about stealing from them. But the damage was done, and the only thing it could do was move forward.

Heading to the back of the barn where all the tools and equipment were stored, the figure took a long coil of rope and two knives in sheaths. It saw a small bundle of fabric near the floor behind a stack of hay bales and decided to take it. The clothes it was wearing would only last it so long, and it could find thread, needles, and scissors when it got back to the mainland. It laid down stomach-first on the bales and reached for the fabric, but exhaustion caught up to it. For just a moment, it closed its eyes. Having tried so hard for the past few days to not fall asleep, especially close to where people were, it couldn't hold out any more. Within seconds, it was asleep.

* * *

_Fire was everywhere. The flames towered all the way to the high ceiling, burning everything in sight. The heat was so intense, one might think that they were in the heart of a volcano. The smoke was so thick; there was no oxygen at all. The figure tried coughing to get the smoke out, but, with each cough, it took a deep breath and only inhaled even more smoke. It crouched low to the ground, trying to make itself as small as possible. All of a sudden, the flames rushed at it._

"_AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"_

* * *

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

The figure sat up quickly, looking around and trying hard not to fall off of the hay bales. Gasping for breath, it tried to clear the suffocating feeling from its lungs and the smell of smoke from its nose. Absolutely terrified and fully focused on calming down, it didn't hear the horses panicking a little bit or the people who came into the barn to settle them down. It only noticed when they entered the room it was in and shined a light in its face. Looking up, it saw two men; one that looked a few years younger than it and one that looked old enough to be the boy's father.

"What are you doing in here, miss?" The older man asked.

The figure, a young woman, didn't answer. She was still shaken from the nightmare she'd just had, and she knew that these people would find out what she had done. Sure enough, the boy noticed her bag on the floor and looked through it with his flashlight.

"Papa," he said, "this is our rope, and these are our knives. She has tried to steal from us." The older man looked accusingly at the girl.

"You think you can steal from us and get away with it?" he asked. When the girl didn't answer, he grabbed her arm and started dragging her out of the barn. "The law will take care of you."

The girl didn't put up a fight. She did stumble a few times because her legs were trembling, but the man pulled her back up, each time a little more harshly. The boy followed them. Looking around, the girl saw that she had been sleeping longer than she thought. The sun had already started to rise. What little light there was shined down on her, illuminating her long, light brown hair with a teal streak in the front on her right side that didn't come up all the way to the top of her head, green eyes hidden behind deep bags from too little sleep, and tear marks on her cheeks from crying. Her clothing consisted of a loose, off-white T-shirt, a pair of brown pants that looked a size too big for her held up by a worn, black leather belt, and black sneakers.

The group got to the main house, and a woman met them at the door. She looked sympathetically at the girl for a moment, but her attitude changed when her husband told her what the girl had tried to do. Using the phone that they had just got installed in their house, she made a call. The father pushed the girl into a chair.

"You stay right there," he told her. The girl didn't move.

The family waited in the room and watched her until a car pulled up outside of the house. Two soldiers came inside and listened as the family told them the story of what had happened. Their eyes widened a bit when they saw her and their faces looked a little shocked, like they recognized her and couldn't believe she would do something like this, but they quickly shook off those looks. After hearing the story, and looking inside the bag the girl had brought with her, they grabbed her arms and walked her outside. One soldier climbed into the driver seat while the other sat in the back with the girl to make sure she didn't try to escape.

It was a silent drive to the mansion. When they arrived, the soldiers escorted her to the dungeons and locked her in one of the cells, where she would wait until a decision had been made on what to do with her.

The girl had made no reaction to anything from the time she had been found, but, when she saw the bars of the prison cells, her eyes widened with fear and she tried to break away from the soldiers. But she was weak from a lack of food and sleep, and the soldiers were strong. They threw her into the cell and quickly closed and locked the door. They watched as the panicking girl tried in vain to open the door. As they were walking away, they heard her cry out.

"Please!" she shouted at them. "Don't leave me in here! Don't leave me alone!"

Her voice had started out loud, but got quieter the further away the soldiers walked. As soon as she could no longer hear the soldiers' footsteps, the girl collapsed onto the ground and started crying.

!#$ ^$%*^&amp;(*&amp;^(&amp;*&amp; %$~!#$%ER^&amp;^%*&amp;!#^$%^%#$*U %$^!#!~#%!^ &amp;

How was that? Can you guess who the girl is? What's going to happen next?

Please review.


	6. Chapter 6

Nina Vale: Ok. There is that part in "Let's kill Hitler" after Melody regenerates into River, but she doesn't know who she's going to be.

D. N. S Akina: Keep reading and find out.

Disclaimer: I do not own "Huntik."

#$%%^&amp;%^(*&amp;^*%&amp;$ ^#$$&amp;%R&amp;(^%*$%~ !#%$ #^&amp;*^%* %$!%~

Chapter 6: Memories and Plans

The next morning, the team was slow to wake up, preferring to sleep in. But,eventually, their stomachs forced them out of their cozy beds and into the kitchen. They ate pancakes, courtesy of Zhalia, with sliced strawberries and bananas, courtesy of Sophie, and discussed their mission.

"Grier said Wilder's supposed to lead us to the titan," Zhalia began, "but I don't think the guy's going to be very willing to help us."

"He's still there on the beach," Harrison pointed out for them. "Either he hasn't moved since yesterday or he just really likes that spot."

"Someone needs to go talk to him," Cherit said, "but who's going to do it?"

"Let me," Sophie said as she finished her breakfast and took her plate over to the sink. "I have the most experience with just talking to him."

"We'll be here waiting for you when you get back," Lok said, finishing his last pancake and heading for his room.

"Oh, no, you don't," Zhalia said as she grabbed his shirt before he could escape her reach. "You, Den, and Harrison, are going to do the dishes."

"I'll put them away," Den said, claiming the easiest job.

"I'll dry," Harrison said, following his brother's lead.

Lok groaned. With the brothers taking the other two jobs, he was left to wash. Zhalia handed him her plate and walked into the room she shared with Sophie. Lok looked over at the Casterwill girl standing by the door, his familiar "Help me!" look on his face. Sophie laughed at him and shook her head. Lok groaned again as she walked out of the house, then he turned to the sink.

_Might as well get it over with _he thought.

* * *

Sophie walked down the beach toward the figure standing there as still as a statue. As she got close, Wilder looked up from the picture in his hands and at the approaching girl. His eyes widened a bit when he saw her, and a strange look crossed his face, but it didn't even last a full second.

"Hello, Sophie," he said in a low voice.

_He sounds like he wishes I was somebody else _Sophie thought. "Long time, no see, Wilder."

"Not long enough." With that, Wilder went back to looking at the picture.

"What do you have there?" Sophie asked, trying to start up a conversation.

"The only thing I have of my daughter," was the response she got. She gave Wilder a curious look.

"I didn't know you had a daughter," she said. "What's she like?" Sophie was surprised to see Wilder smile a bit.

"Actually," he said, turning to her, "she was. . . _is_ a lot like you." Sophie caught his little slip-up and stored it away for future reference.

"Clever, kind, and not afraid to stand up for what she believes in," Wilder continued. "Whenever we went somewhere new, she walked around with a guide book spouting out random facts and was fluent in the language within a few days. She was an awesome cook, too. I would come home from a long and tiring mission, and she would have dinner ready for me along with a dessert that would last a week. She would help me with some of my missions, researching legends and historical accounts. Her language skills came in handy quite a bit there.

"When I adopted her, she already had an amulet of her own. I kept it for her until she was thirteen, when I finally told her about Seekers and Titans. Within a few years she was the strongest Seeker I had ever known. I never told the Organization about her, though. I didn't want them recruiting her like they'd recruited me. She was just so innocent; I wanted her to stay that way for as long as possible. She was the only reason I kept moving forward, the only reason I got out of bed every morning. She was my life."

Sophie was silent for a minute, taking it all in. Then she spoke.

"You keep talking about your daughter in past tense," she said. "Did something happen to her?"

Wilder got a scared look on his face, realizing what he had said. Tears welled up in his eyes, but he didn't let them fall. He took a deep breath, trying to get up the courage to answer.

"I lost her," he said in a quiet voice. "Two years ago. She disappeared, and I don't even know if she's still alive."

"What do you mean 'she disappeared'?" Sophie asked. Wilder closed his eyes.

"It was painful enough for me to say as much as I have," he said. "I don't even know why I brought her up at all. Please don't push it any further."

Sophie wanted to know more about Wilder's daughter, but she was afraid that he might not tell them what they needed to know about the Titan they were after if she asked any more questions. This didn't mean she was giving up though. She would ask Wilder more after they got the Titan. For now, they had a mission.

"Grier said that you're supposed to be our guide to the Hippocampus," she said. "Shall we get it over with?"

Wilder tensed up when she mentioned the Titan's name, but he shook it off. Nodding, he turned and followed Sophie back to the house. They entered, and the three boys in the kitchen turned to look at him.

"Wilder," Den said as he took a plate from Harrison. "Long time, no see. Don't try to kill me this time, okay?"

"He tried to do what?" Harrison asked, pausing in what he was doing to stare at his brother. Den stared right back.

"Nothing less than what you tried to do to me," he said. Harrison turned red and went back to drying the dishes.

"So what do you know about the Titan?" Zhalia asked as she walked into the room. Cherit had gone to get her when Sophie and Wilder were walking up to the house. The boys, thinking that listening might get them out of work, stopped what they were doing and turned around, acting like they were paying attention. Zhalia turned to them. "Don't even think about it," she said, pointing to the dishes and smiling as the boys groaned and got back to work.

"The amulet of the Hippocampus rests in a cave on a small island just off shore of Sutos on the east side," Wilder said as he, Sophie, and Zhalia sat down in the living room. "Well, it's more like a giant rock than a small island. The cave entrance is under water, so we'll have to do some swimming to get inside. Beyond that, there's little information as to what else we'll find in the cave besides the amulet."

"What else _would _there be?" Harrison asked. "It's not like it's a legendary Titan or anything."

"The Hippocampus is able to travel huge distances at great speeds through water," Wilder explained. "Anyone riding it would be able to breathe as easily under water as they can above it. The Titan also has deadly control over that element. If an enemy is in the water, or evennear it, and someone invokes Hippocampus, they'd better run. There's also a rumor that bonding with the Hippocampus will allow the Seeker the ability to communicate with marine animals, but that's never been proven."

"Good thing we brought our wetsuits," Den said. "Let's go."

"Shouldn't we wait a while before going?" Lok asked as he handed the last dish to Harrison. "I mean, you're supposed to wait an hour after eating before going for a swim."

"That's a myth," Zhalia said. "I've gone swimming right after eating plenty of times and I was fine."

"Nice try, Lok," Cherit said. The girls and Wilder laughed.

Harrison finished drying the last dish and handed it to Den, who put it away. All three boys joined the group in the living room. Wilder stood up.

"Grab your gear and meet me at the dock," he said. "I need to get a wetsuit of my own." With that, he walked out of the house and closed the door behind him.

"So what did you two talk about?" Den asked Sophie as soon as Wilder was out of hearing range. "You were out there for a while."

"I'm not saying," Sophie answered. With that, she walked out of the room to get her swimming gear. Everyone stared after her.

"Weird," Lok said. "What the heck did Wilder say to her that she doesn't want to repeat?"

"Obviously something that you lot shouldn't try to find out," Zhalia said, following Sophie's lead.

The boys looked at each other for a moment, then shrugged and went to get their own gear.

# !#$# ^&amp;%^()&amp;^*))^%&amp;%!#$T^$E^%*&amp;(%*&amp;)O(I$*^%U&amp;Y$~ %#$#$^$ Y&amp;$

How was that? The Hippocampus isn't an actual Titan from Huntik, as far as I know, so I just made up what kinds of powers it has.

Please review.


	7. Chapter 7

Nina Vale: Keep reading. You'll get your answers eventually.

Disclaimer: I do not own "Huntik."

!$# %&amp;^%^(*^# ^%~# ^%$$#W*EYTRD*W%$^*# $%^$#*^%$#&amp;^SE%&amp;E%

Chapter 7: Gone

Twenty minutes later, the team walked onto the dock with their swimming gear in their hands. Wilder was waiting for them next to their boat. They all got in, and Wilder drove them around to the east side of the island. On the way there, the girls changed into their wetsuits in the rooms below the deck. When they finished, the boys went down and changed into theirs. Wilder switched places with Zhalia, giving her directions, before going down and also changing.

By the time he'd finished, they'd reached the island of the Hippocampus. Wilder had been right; it was more like a giant rock than a small island. Putting on their air tanks, goggles, and breathers, the team and Wilder dived down. Wilder led them through the water and into the tunnel that led up and into the cave. It looked very similar to the cave that was the resting place of Umbra in the Sea of Cortez.

Taking off their air tanks, goggles, breathers, and flippers, and setting them aside, the group walked forward with Wilder in the lead. The tunnel was paved with flat stones, each a different shade of brown.

"Everyone keep your eyes open," Wilder said. "No telling what sort of traps could be here."

The words had barely left his mouth when the stone he had just stepped on gave way beneath him and he stumbled forward. Lok and Harrison caught him and pulled him back just in time as some of the stones surrounding the first one fell away as well and dropped a long way down. Listening closely, the group heard a series of splashes that signaled the stones hitting the water.

"The stones are rigged," Zhalia said. "One of the shades must be a trap. Did anyone notice which one it was?"

"It was the darkest shade," Sophie said.

"Watch your step," Wilder said.

The group walked a little slower after that. Wilder picked up some stones that were lying on the sides of the path and tossed one onto the dark stone that was closest to them. It and the surrounding stones fell away and ended in a splash. They walked around the opening. Each time they reached another dark stone, Wilder would toss a rock and set off the trap.

"Why are we setting off all of them?" Harrison asked.

"If we set them off now," Wilder answered, "we won't have to worry about them later."

They reached the end of the stone-paved path. Now it was just dirt. Wilder walked slowly, looking around for anything that seemed different or off about this section. Luckily, there were no traps. They did see small clumps of grass growing on the path. The further they walked the bigger the clumps, until it was impossible to take a step without getting some grass under your foot. Soon the whole path was covered.

The tunnel then opened up into a large cave. Where they stood was the only solid ground. The rest of the cave floor was nothing but a pool of water. The walls were brown. A wide and thin white stone was standing in between them and the water, not even coming up to Wilder's waist. Rising out from the middle of the pool was a tall, white, stone pillar that nearly went all the way to the ceiling.

"The amulet must be up there," Sophie observed.

"Cherit, can you fly up there and get it?" Lok asked the small white Titan on his shoulder.

"Too easy," Zhalia said as she picked up a rock and tossed it into the air. A whip of water rose up out of the pool and swatted the rock into the wall, where it shattered.

"I think I'll stay right here," Cherit said.

"What next?" Den asked. "Swim through the water and climb the pillar?"

"The sides of the pillar are too steep and smooth for climbing," Wilder said, "and the water's probably a trap just like the air."

"Then how do we get the amulet?" Harrison asked.

"The clue I found in the Organization's archives said that 'water on white stone will show the way.'"

"We've got plenty of water but there are two white stones," Lok said. "And one of them is already touching the water. What's our next move?"

Sophie, thinking quickly, scooped up some water from the pool and poured it onto the white stone in front of them. Where the water fell the stone turned black, except for some symbols that looked like they could be letters. The rest of the team, following Sophie's lead, scooped up more water and poured it onto the stone. They continued until the entire side facing them was black, revealing a hidden message in white Greek letters.

"'Surrender an item close to the heart, and the waters, for you, will part,'" Wilder translated out loud.

"What does that mean?" Den asked.

"It's a riddle," Lok said, "and the key to getting the amulet. To do so, we have to exchange something for it."

"Something close to the heart," Zhalia added. "We need to exchange an item of sentimental value. Does anyone happen to have something like that on them?"

The boys, Wilder, and Cherit all shook their heads. Sophie, on the other hand, looked sad for a moment, then dug into her backpack and pulled out a chain. On the chain was a ring. The ring was a simple silver band with small pink gems embedded in the metal.

"Leblanche said this ring once belonged to my mother," Sophie told the rest of them. "It's one of the few things I have that were hers, and it's been my good-luck charm for the past few years."

"Sophie, you can't give that up!" Lok told her in a horrified voice.

"It's alright, Lok," Sophie said.

"It's not alright," Zhalia said. "You said so yourself, that ring is something of your mother's. Are you really going to let it go just to complete the mission?"

"You won't get it back," Wilder added, voicing the fact that Sophie was trying very hard not to think about.

"I know," Sophie said in a quiet voice, "but, in a way, I'm still trying to move on from the loss of my parents. I've already defeated the man who killed them. Maybe giving up this ring is just another step." Sophie took a few steps forward with the ring in her hand, stepping into the pool.

The instant her foot touched the water, a staircase rose up out of the pool and up towards the top of the pillar. Sophie climbed up the stairs. When she reached the top, she set down the chain with the ring on it and picked up what she found on the pillar. She turned around and climbed down, the staircase lowering back into the water behind her. She stepped back onto the path inside the tunnel and the team gathered around to see the amulet. Sophie looked up at them.

"The amulet. It's gone."

!$# %&amp;^%^(^&amp; $%^&amp;#%^*U $%^Q%&amp;$%^I($%*^&amp;!#%^&amp;%&amp;(% #^%$$E

Cliffhanger! How was that? Where's the amulet? Who took it? What do you think is going to happen next?

I sort of got the idea on how to get the Titan from a Doctor Who episode and I got the idea for the water-on-stone from a movie. Cyber cookies for whoever can guess which episode and which movie.

Please review.


	8. Chapter 8

Nina Vale: Your reviews make me want to break out in evil laughter.

NumberOneVIP: It's gone.

Disclaimer: I do not own "Huntik."

!#%$# ^&amp;DR*T&amp;I^$&amp;U# $^%&amp;Y%#!Q&amp;^$%IU^%$ Y%$#!%$#%*URYTE

Chapter 8: Wishes and Regrets

"_The amulet. It's gone."_

"What do you mean the amulet's gone?" Lok asked.

"I mean it wasn't up there," Sophie answered. "Someone was here before us."

She opened her hand and held it out for the others to see. Resting in the center of her palm was a locket. It was small, only about an inch in diameter, and circular. A Celtic knot that sort of looked like three horses chasing one another was engraved on the cover.

"Whoever it was," Sophie continued, "left this behind in exchange for the amulet."

"If the amulet was already gone," Harrison spoke up, "why did you still leave your mom's ring up there?"

"If she took the locket without leaving something behind, it would be as if the person who took the amulet had never left it in the first place, and whatever trap that's been set would go off."

Sophie nodded at Wilder's words, and noticed that he looked very pale and was staring at the locket with a strange look on his face, almost as if he recognized it.

"So what do we do now?" Den asked.

"We obviously can't complete the original mission," Zhalia answered, "but we do have a clue as to who took the amulet. We can examine the locket and try to find out who it belongs to."

"Let's head back to Sutos first," Wilder said. He wasn't staring at the locket anymore, but he was still pale and still had that look on his face. "We can't do anything else here, so there's no point in staying."

The rest of them nodded and started walking back down the tunnel. They had walked almost to the section with the colored stones when they realized that Wilder wasn't with them. Zhalia was prepared to go back and drag him back to Sutos, but Sophie volunteered to go back and get him in a nicer way. The boys, Zhalia, and Cherit waited where they were while Sophie walked back to the cave.

Wilder had his back to the tunnel, looking out at the cave. Sophie walked up and stopped next to him.

"Is something wrong?" she asked. Wilder was silent for a moment before answering.

"I've imagined coming here for quite a few years now," he said, "but I always imagined that someone else would be with me."

"Your daughter?" Sophie asked. Wilder nodded.

"Renee. She loved horses. Even when she was young, she would always look up stories and legends about famous horses in history and mythology. When I introduced her to the Seeker world, she immediately began looking for connections between the Titans and the myths. She's the reason I know so much about the Hippocampus. There would be days that, as soon as I walked through the door, she would just start blurting out facts and details about Titans that may have inspired the myths and where they were possibly hidden. I don't think she bothered with whether or not I was listening, but it didn't matter because I always was. I wanted to bring her to all the places she talked about and get the Titans for her that she was interested in. Now I'm here, but Renee isn't."

Sophie listened patiently as Wilder ranted, waiting for him to pause. She wasn't sure what to say to him that would make things any better, but she tried.

"I know what it's like to lose someone you love," she began, "except I know that my parents are never coming back, and you said so yourself that you don't know if your daughter is dead or not. She may be alive, and you may still find her."

"I've been telling myself that for two years," Wilder said. "It gets harder to believe with each passing day."

"As long as you still believe, there's still hope," Sophie said. "It's when you stop believing that the situation turns into exactly the outcome that you feared. Don't give up."

"Why are you being so nice to me?" Wilder asked, shaking his head at her. "We were enemies."

"It's just like I said when we last met," Sophie answered. "I told you that I thought there might be something different about you, different from Defoe or Klaus. I was right, and I think I'm starting to understand what that difference is."

There was silence for a moment as Wilder looked at her with one eyebrow raised. After a while, he sighed and looked back at the cave.

"When we last met," he began, "you also said that I was a coward, that I resorted to dirty tricks because I was afraid of getting hurt and not fulfilling my ambition. In a way, you were right about that as well. I was afraid of getting hurt, but not for the reasons you thought back then. Renee was adopted. I was never able to find out who her real family was, so I was all she had. If I became seriously wounded, not only would I not be able to find her, but I would be unable to take care of and protect her when I did find her. I wanted the position of leader of the Organization so that I would have the resources to find her. Unfortunately, because I fought so hard for that instead of just searching for her like I should have been doing, resources or not, I'm now stuck on this island, with no way of ever finding my daughter." He paused for a moment. "I failed her." A tear ran down his face at those last three words.

"You haven't failed," Sophie said, placing a comforting hand on his arm. "You're still alive, which means that you can still search for her."

"How?" Wilder asked. "There's nothing on this island that I can use. I've tried escaping to the mainland, but the soldiers always catch me."

"I'll try talking to Grier," Sophie told him. "Maybe we can work something out."

Wilder turned his head and stared at the young woman next to him. Memories of his daughter raced through his mind. Renee was constantly helping people, from good friends to neighbors to complete strangers. She was strong, kind, and wise. Though he would never have admitted it to anyone else, Sophie reminded him a lot of Renee. He smiled. With no warning, he hugged Sophie, whose eyes grew wide at this unexpected and out-of-character gesture from Wilder.

"Thank you," he whispered.

He let go, and Sophie smiled at him before turning and walking back down the tunnel once more. Wilder took one more look at the cave before following her.

!#$%#$&amp;*^&amp;*)(*^&amp;%^#%QW^^&amp;*&amp;)*^&amp;(**&amp;&amp;#$%~ #^E%^&amp;(^&amp;*(* $%~#! $ #

More about Renee, and there's more to come in future chapters. Keep reading and keep reviewing.


	9. Chapter 9

Nina Vale: Meeting between whom?

D.N.S Akina: Your wait is over.

Disclaimer: I do not own "Huntik."

#!$%#%&amp;^*^)($^%#&amp;^~ #%$WE%R&amp;^$(%*$ &amp;^%#!# %$&amp;$EU&amp;Y^$~%# $

Chapter 9: Mistaken Identities

At the same time that Wilder was taking the team to the cave of the Hippocampus, Grier was walking down the halls of the mansion towards the dungeons. Two of his soldiers had come to him and told him about a young woman who had tried to steal from a farm not far from town. Normally thieves were taken to the prison in town, but his soldiers had told him that there was something strange about this one, and that they thought he should take a look at her. With a sigh, Grier had set down the reports he had been working on and headed towards the dungeons to see just what his soldiers were talking about.

Stepping into the dungeons, he made his way towards the cell that the soldiers told him they had placed the girl in. He reached it, stopped, and looked inside. The girl was sitting on the floor by the back wall of the cell, with her knees pulled up to her chest and her face buried in them. Grier heard quiet sobbing.

"Excuse me," he said, and the girl looked up. His eyes widened as he saw what the soldiers had been referring to. "Sophie Casterwill?"

Even as he said it, he knew that the girl in front of him was not Sophie. Their facial structure and eye and hair color were the same, but that was where the similarities ended. Besides the fact that Sophie was not the kind to steal from anybody, _and_ that she was on a boat with her team and Wilder headed for the cave of the Hippocampus, there were other differences.

This girl's long hair was knotted and tangled, and there was a teal streak in the front on her right side that didn't reach the top of her head. Her face was dirty, and you could see the paths that her tears had taken from crying so much. Her green eyes were rimmed with red, more evidence that she had been crying, and there were heavy bags under them that said she had not gotten very much sleep lately. They were filled with pain, but there was a hint of mischief and laughter in them; she had been happy once, but that time was long gone. Her pant legs had come up a little bit from sitting down, and Grier could see evidence of old burn scars.

The girl shook her head slightly and said in a low voice, "Sorry. Wrong girl." Another difference that Grier noticed was that this girl didn't have a British accent like Sophie did.

"Who are you, then?" Grier asked. The girl shook her head again.

"I can't say," she answered.

"Can't or won't?" The girl was silent for a minute.

"It's best if I don't tell anyone my real name," she finally said.

"Well, I need to call you something," Grier said. "Is there a name you like that I can call you by? You can think of it as an alias." The girl smiled slightly, but the smile didn't reach her eyes.

"How about 'Annabelle'?" she suggested.

"Annabelle. That'll work." The girl nodded and Grier smiled. It wasn't much, but it was a start. He noticed that she seemed very uncomfortable. "My men said that you put up a little fight when they brought you here." Annabelle looked at the ground.

"I don't like cages," she quietly said. After a few minutes of silence, Grier figured that he wouldn't get much else out of her unless he took her somewhere else.

Luckily, there were a few empty rooms off of the dungeons that the soldiers used for interrogations. Grier called to the two soldiers that were on duty in the dungeons at that time and asked them to release Annabelle. The second the door was unlocked, Annabelle sprinted out and stopped just outside of it. She let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding, and Grier could immediately see the relief in her eyes. He placed his hand on her shoulder and escorted her to the nearest interrogation room, the two soldiers walking with them, one in front and one in the back.

The soldier in front opened the door and stepped back to allow Grier and Annabelle to enter. The room was plain, with a table and two chairs as the only furniture. There were no windows, and the only light came from three light-bulbs in the middle of the ceiling. Annabelle stiffened up a little as she walked into the room. Grier still had his hand on her shoulder, so he felt her tense up.

"Are you alright?" he asked as he led her over to the chair that was facing the door.

"It doesn't look like a cage," Annabelle said as she sat down, "but it's still a prison." Grier sat down in the chair opposite her.

"You obviously have a fear of confinement," he noted. "Care to tell me why?" Annabelle shook her head. "Will you at least tell me why you were stealing, then?"

"I can't show myself to people," she answered, "so I can't work for what I need to survive."

"Why can't you show yourself to people?" Grier asked. "Are you trying to avoid confrontation with anybody?" Annabelle was silent, so Grier tried again. "Are you just extremely socially awkward and don't want to put yourself in that situation?" Again, no answer. "Are you running away from something or someone?"

"I can't let him find me." The words escaped her lips before she realized what she was saying. When she did, Annabelle gasped and covered her mouth with her hands. Grier fought the temptation to smile at this breakthrough.

"You're running from someone," he said. "A man. Is he a relative or a stranger?"

"Why does it matter?" Annabelle sounded angry with herself for revealing even the slightest bit of information. "He wants me. He's willing to kill to get to me. I avoid people so that no one can answer him if he asks them if they've seen me. I also avoid them to protect them. This guy doesn't want anyone knowing about me, so anyone who gives him information of any sort is eliminated." She looked up at Grier with a pleading look and more tears in her eyes that had yet to fall. "I'm begging you; let me go and forget you ever saw me, for your own safety." Grier shook his head.

"I'm not the kind of man who will just sit back and allow something like this," he said. "I would give you the option to stay here for as long as you wish, but I know that you would just leave the second you could." He stood up. "I know you dislike confinement, but it's for _your _own safety." He turned and started to walk out of the room. "I'll send someone in periodically to check up on you and take care of your needs," he called over his shoulder.

He would have said something else, but, while he was talking, Annabelle was reaching into her pocket. The soldiers noticed when she removed an amulet.

"Raypulse!"

Annabelle screamed a bit as the Raypulse hit her hand, causing her to drop her amulet. She reached for another one, but the soldiers had crossed the room and reached her already. One of them grabbed her arms and held them behind her back as the other one picked up the fallen amulet and searched her pockets for more. Annabelle had a total of three amulets.

"You're a Seeker," Grier observed.

Annabelle was about to reply with a power when the soldier holding her snapped a pair of handcuffs around her wrists. That didn't stop her though.

"Boltflare!" she cried. Nothing happened. She tried again. "Boltflare!"

"Don't bother," Grier said. "Those cuffs are designed to neutralize any Seeker powers." Annabelle cried out as if she were in great pain.

The soldier with her amulets handed them to Grier, who pulled out his Holotome. Scanning them, he learned that Annabelle had Pegasus, the Night Mares, and Hippocampus. He narrowed his eyes at the last one, knowing that a certain Seeker team was on their way to retrieve that exact Titan. He handed the amulets back to the soldier.

"Hold on to those," he ordered, then looked at Annabelle. "I would normally use Sorrowbond, but I'd like you to trust me rather than think of me as your enemy."

"This is supposed to make me trust you!?" Annabelle cried out. "The man who's after me could attack at any moment! If he does, I'll need my powers and Titans to escape!"

"Then I'll leave you with some protection," Grier said, not missing a beat. "You two," he ordered, pointing at the soldiers, "stay with her and keep her out of trouble."

The soldiers nodded before taking their places on either side of Annabelle, who had been pushed back down into her chair. She lowered her head and sighed, a mixture of defeat and sadness. Grier gave her one last look before walking out of the room and closing the door. He walked back towards his office, ordering a passing soldier to inform him when Wilder returned with the Huntik Foundation team.

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And we find out a little more about our mystery girl. More revelations in the next chapter. Read and review.

P.S. At the end of chapter 7, I offered cyber cookies to whoever could guess where I had gotten some of my plot ideas from. So far, no one has guessed. Those cyber cookies are still available to anyone who wants them.


	10. Chapter 10

Nina Vale: I'm not telling. I don't even know if Kiel is alive or not. And what meeting with Sophie and Wilder?

D.N.S Akina: Maybe.

Disclaimer: I do not own "Huntik."

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Chapter 10: Found?

The team headed straight for their beachside house, with Wilder right behind them, as soon as they got back to Sutos, all taking various positions around the living room. Sophie pulled out the locket she had found in the cave and placed in on the low table in front of them. Setting it down, she noticed that Wilder was staring at it again with that strange look on his face.

Zhalia scanned the locket with her Holotome and an image of it came up, along with an online website that sold Celtic-style jewelry, where the locket had originally come from. Hacking into the website's records, she came up with a list of purchases for that particular locket.

"This design had only been out for about three years now," she said. "A total of thirty-two people have bought one."

"That's quite a list," Lok moaned, the idea of sorting through them all and trying the find the locket's owner already giving him a headache.

Zhalia searched through the records, trying to find something that would help them narrow down the list, and spotted something. "This company gives you the option of special order engravings on the back," she said. Sophie picked up the locket and turned it over.

"It's engraved," she said, and watched as Zhalia made a new list for them. The total came to only twelve this time.

"That's less than half of the original list," Den said with a smile on his face.

"Can you see what the individual engravings are for each order?" Harrison asked. Zhalia did some quick typing.

"Yes," she answered. "Some are letters and some are flowers and other images. Sophie. . ."

The Casterwill girl didn't need any more instructions. Looking carefully at the engraving on the locket, she said, "It's three letters. R-A-W. Must be their initials."

After some more typing, Zhalia smiled. "There's only one order with that specific engraving. The one who purchased it is. . ." She paused, and double-checked the name and picture that showed up on the screen. After making sure that what she was seeing was correct, she looked up at the team, or, more specifically, one person, turned the Holotome around to let them see the picture, and said two words. "Zack Wilder."

The team looked at the picture of Wilder displayed on the Holotome before turning to the real Wilder, who was sitting on the couch next to Sophie. His face was pale, his eyes were wide, and he looked like he was having trouble breathing. Taking the locket from Sophie, he opened it up. The team crowded around. Staring back at them from the locket was a picture of a smiling Wilder.

"It can't be," he whispered. "Renee?"

"This was your daughter's locket?" Sophie asked. The rest of the team turned to her with confused looks on their faces. Like her, before Wilder had confessed to her, none of them had any idea that Wilder had a daughter.

"This was a sixteenth birthday present," Wilder said. "She never took it off. But if it's here, then that means that. . ." His voice trailed off.

"That means that Renee must have been here," Sophie finished for him.

"You don't know where your own daughter is?" Zhalia scoffed, criticism and doubt in her voice.

"She disappeared two years ago," Wilder said. "This is the first clue I've had as to what happened to her."

"If it's been two years," Cherit began, "she may not have been here very recently. Two years is a long time. A lot could have happened between then and now."

"I know that," Wilder said. "But, still. . ." He closed his eyes, trying to hold back the tears that threatened to fall.

"What if it wasn't her?" Harrison asked. "What if someone took it from her?"

"The item exchanged for the Hippocampus amulet had to be something with sentimental value," Sophie reminded him. "I doubt it would mean very much to someone who stole it. Besides, Wilder's picture is still inside. If the locket was stolen, whoever took it would have removed it."

"I thought as much," Harrison said. "It was just a suggestion."

"Do you have a picture of your daughter?" Den asked. "If she came to the island, maybe someone will recognize her."

As Wilder hesitated, the door opened and Grier walked in, having been informed that the team and Wilder had returned. Before anyone could say anything, he spoke.

"You didn't find the amulet."

"How do you know that?" Lok asked.

"Because I know who took it," Grier answered.

Wilder started, but didn't look up. He just kept staring at the now closed locket.

"So do we," Sophie said. "It was Wilder's daughter, Renee."

"You have a daughter?" Grier asked Wilder, who had finally looked up. If the news hadn't shocked him, the tear that fell from Wilder's eyes did. He showed him the locket.

"This was my daughter's," he said in a quiet voice. "We found it in the cave."

Grier took the locket from Wilder's hand and looked at it. Turning it over, he saw the engraved letters.

"R-A-W," he read out loud. "Those would be her initials?" Wilder nodded. "The 'A' wouldn't happen to stand for 'Annabelle,' would it?" Wilder's eyes widened as he looked at Grier in shock. He opened his mouth, but no words came out.

"What did you mean when you said you knew who took the amulet?" Harrison asked, apparently the only one who remembered why Grier had come here in the first place.

"Because she's here," Grier answered. Wilder jumped up.

"Renee's here!?" he cried. "On Sutos!? Where is she!? How did you find her!?"

"Slow down there," Grier said, pushing Wilder back down. "She was caught stealing from a farm. When I interrogated her, she refused to give me her real name and asked to be called 'Annabelle' instead. She also mentioned that someone was looking for her; a man that was willing to kill to get to her."

"I would do anything to find my daughter," Wilder said, "but I wouldn't go so far as to kill someone. Renee would never forgive me if I did."

"You had no problem trying to kill us when we were still fighting," Den pointed out. Wilder looked away with an ashamed look on his face.

"The man she's referring to must be involved with her disappearance," Sophie suggested, trying to lead the conversation away from where Den had started taking it and back to where it originally was.

"We found the few amulets she had on her," Grier continued, "and one of them was the Hippocampus."

"After two years with no clues at all," Wilder whispered, "and now. . ." He stood up again. "I have to see her." He was pushed back into his seat once again by Grier.

"Just to make sure it's the same girl," he began, "do you have a picture of your daughter on you by any chance?"

Just like before, Wilder hesitated. Eventually, though, he pulled a picture out of his pocket, the same picture that Sophie had seen him looking at. Everyone crowded around to take a look, and all but Grier gasped.

"Sophie!?" the boys cried, then switched back and forth from looking at the girl sitting next to Wilder, who had gone as pale as he had when he first saw the locket, and the picture that he held in his hand.

"Wilder, you said you adopted Renee. Care to give us the details about that?" Sophie asked the man sitting next to her.

"It was fourteen years ago," Wilder began. "I had just joined the Organization and was in Paris looking for an apartment. I found Renee in an alley. She looked like she had just come out of a fire. The hospital was unable to locate her family, so she was sent to the orphanage. I adopted her two weeks later."

"You also mentioned that she already had an amulet," Sophie said.

"Yes," Wilder said. "Pegasus."

"That's one of the Titans Annabelle had on her," Grier added.

"Sophie, do you know something about Renee that the rest of us don't?" Lok asked.

Everyone stared at her as Sophie tried to think of the best way to say it. After a few minutes of mental debate, she took a deep breath.

"I think," she began, "that Renee might really be Serena, my twin sister."

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Cliffhanger! Even though most of my reviewers had already figured it out. How was that? I'll explain about Sophie's twin in the next chapter. For now, please review.


	11. Chapter 11

Nina Vale: Yeah, you knew it. I thought it might be easy to figure it out. I gave you enough hints.

D.N.S Akina: Really? You had kind of figured it out already.

Disclaimer: I do not own "Huntik."

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Chapter 11: A Selfless Sacrifice

"_I think that Renee might really be Serena, my twin sister."_

"Your WHAT!?"

Lok, Den, and Harrison all had their mouths open and were staring at Sophie, who had flinched as they'd screamed those two words. Zhalia, Cherit, and Grier were looking at her with curious faces, wanting to know the story behind this. Wilder just looked like he wanted to run out of the house and find Renee.

"Why did you not tell us you had a twin sister!?" Lok demanded to know.

"I thought she had died in the same fire that killed my parents," Sophie answered in as calm a voice as she could muster, "just like how I thought Lucas had also died, so I didn't think it was worth it to tell any of you."

"But you survived the fire," Zhalia pointed out, "and so did Lucas, so it makes sense that Serena could have survived as well."

"I only survived because of Santiago," Sophie reminded her, "and I don't know how Lucas survived."

"Why do you think Renee is your sister?" Grier asked. "Aside from the fact that she looks exactly like you."

"My parents died in a fire," Sophie began, "fourteen years ago at our summer house in Paris."

"And I found Renee fourteen years ago in Paris, looking like she had just come out of a fire," Wilder chimed in. Sophie nodded.

"Also," she continued, "when every Casterwill child turns three years of age, they receive their first Titan to bond with. Lucas was given Templar, I got Sabriel, and Serena received Pegasus. She always did like horses."

"Only one way to know for sure," Zhalia said as she stood up. "We give Renee a test that will prove whether or not she has Casterwill blood."

Sophie and Wilder stood up, and Wilder took the locket back from Grier, putting it in his pocket to give back to Renee. As the four humans and Cherit moved towards the door, Zhalia noticed that the boys were still standing there with their mouths hanging open. Rolling her eyes, she turned to them.

"Close your mouths before a bug flies in," she said. The boys immediately snapped their jaws shut. "Good. Now, you can either stay here in your shock or you can come with us and meet the girl in person."

The boys had barely taken a step towards the door when a loud explosion rang out. Running outside, everyone saw a large pillar of smoke coming from the mansion. Grier, who had memorized the layout of the mansion and knew where every room was, paled slightly as he realized where the smoke was coming from.

Sure enough, a familiar figure emerged from the cloud of smoke, running towards the water. Renee's hands were still cuffed, but now they were in front of her, and she held her trio of amulets in her hand. Crouching down on the ground for a moment, she picked the lock on the cuffs and they sprang open. Throwing them away, she started running towards the water again when an unfamiliar voice rang out.

"Touchram!"

The power hit Renee in the back and she stumbled, falling to her knees. Looking back, she watched in horror as another figure walked out of the smoke. This one, however, was unfamiliar to the Seekers watching. It was a man, with white skin and short, dark brown hair. He wore a deep-blue shirt, black pants, and a white lab coat. His eyes were dark, almost black, and they were looking at Renee with a mixture of anger, determination, and lust. Renee shivered.

"Come on, my pretty little mare," he said, trying to make his voice soft and friendly, but failing. His voice reminded everyone of a spider web: innocent enough to look at and pretty at times, but a nightmare was hiding in the shadows, waiting to pounce on whatever unsuspecting victim fell into its trap. "Let's end all of this pointless drama and just go home."

"I'm not going anywhere with you, Carter!" Renee shouted at him, trying to sound brave to mask her fear of this man. "And I am not yours!" Raising one of her amulets above her head, an upside-down gold horseshoe with a blue gem in the center and a pair of orange wings, she summoned the Titan resting in it. "Pegasus, hold him back!"

The Titan that emerged was a white horse with large and beautiful silver wings. His mane, tail, and hooves were also silver. His blue eyes shined down on the man who dared to try and force his will upon his Seeker, hatred coming out of them in waves.

The man before him, apparently named Carter, merely smirked, not intimidated by this Titan. He raised two amulets of his own and called out, "Gigadrone, Redcap." The Titans came out and charged, with the two flying Titans beginning to battle and Redcap running straight for the girl.

Renee began to focus on the battle, the Redcap not giving her a second to call forth any more Titans. The Seekers watching, coming out of their shock, began to run towards them, Wilder taking the lead. Noticing them, Carter pulled something else out of his coat.

"Shadowspeed!" Wilder said, putting on a burst of magical speed in order to reach his daughter in time.

He got close enough to see just what Carter had pulled out. What Wilder had thought would be another amulet turned out to be a gun. His thoughts immediately went to his daughter. He put on another burst of speed and ran in between his daughter and the man with the gun just as Carter pulled the trigger.

BANG!

A shot rang out, and the Huntik team and Grier finally reached the sight. Zhalia shot a Raypulse at Carter, forcing the man to drop his gun, which was picked up by Cherit, but it was too late. Renee turned around after shooting one more power towards the Redcap, sending it back to its amulet. She didn't see the man who had been hunting her for so long, nor the prince who had questioned her earlier that day, nor the team of Seekers who defeated the Gigadrone and surrounded Carter, powers aimed and ready to be fired if he tried something.

She only saw her father, the one who had found her and adopted her when she had no one and nothing, the one who had raised her and taught her how to be a Seeker, the one whom she had been taken from, the one she loved with all her heart. . .

. . . and the one who now had a huge red mark on his stomach, one that was growing with the increasing amount of blood escaping from the wound.

The bullet had found a mark.

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Another cliffhanger! Keep watching out for the next chapter to find out what happens. For now, please review. . .

. . . and please don't shoot me!


	12. Chapter 12

Nina Vale: I know. I'm so mean.

NumberOneVIP: Don't worry! It doesn't end there!

Disclaimer: I do not own "Huntik."

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Chapter 12: If Only Tears

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

A scream rang out, one filled with so much pain that anyone listening would think that it came from someone who was being mercilessly tortured a hundred different ways. In a sense, they would be right.

Renee watched as Wilder gave her a small smile before he started falling. She was by his side in an instant, catching him, setting him down on the ground, and cradling his head gently in her lap.

"Daddy!" she cried out. "Daddy, no!"

"Renee," Wilder whispered. "You're alive. Thank the gods." He started coughing.

"Daddy, no! Don't leave me! Please!" Renee pulled up his shirt a little bit, revealing the place where the bullet had entered Wilder's body, and placed one hand on his wound. "Everfight!" The golden light surrounded her hand and flowed towards the wound. The bleeding slowed ever so slightly, but not enough. "Everfight! Everfight!" Renee kept trying, but the wound was too serious to be healed by Seeker powers. Wilder needed a doctor, and he needed one fast!

A group of soldiers and other servants who worked at the mansion had run out onto the field while Renee had been focused on her father. One of them was a paramedic. He immediately ran over to where Wilder and Renee were and took a look at the bullet wound. He took off his over-shirt, bunched it up, and pressed it onto the wound. Wilder bit his lip to keep from crying out in pain. The paramedic turned to Renee.

"Keep pressure on it," he instructed her, taking her hand and putting it on the shirt. As she obeyed, he called out over his shoulder to those who were listening. "I need an air-lift to the hospital in Velos!"

"Get that chopper started up!" Grier ordered two of the soldiers. "Secure that man!" he ordered two more.

The man who had chased Renee and shot Wilder found himself wearing the same kind of handcuffs that Renee had been wearing earlier. As the soldiers led him away, she glared at him. If looks could kill, Carter would have been burned to a crisp before he could blink.

"If my father dies," she shouted after him, "you'll have me to answer to!" The man just smiled at her and allowed himself to be taken away. A moan brought her attention back to her father. "Daddy, hold on," she told him.

"I'll be fine," Wilder told her, looking up at her and smiling, "as long as I know that you're alright." He started coughing again.

The chopper came around and landed next to them. Two soldiers jumped out with a stretcher and helped the paramedic ease Wilder onto it. They then picked up the stretcher and carried it onto the chopper, Renee following them with one hand pressing the now soaked shirt onto the wound and the other holding her father's hand with a grip that said she didn't ever want to let go.

* * *

Many hours later, Renee sat in a chair next to her father's hospital bed, holding his hand again and watching him as he lay there, unmoving.

The doctors had removed the bullet and stitched up the wound as best they could, but Wilder had not woken up yet. He had lost a lot of blood, and a tube now connected his arm to a bag of blood that would replace it. There was quite a bit of internal damage, and the doctors weren't sure if they could fix it all without making it any worse. They told Renee that it would have been better to just pull the plug, but one glare from the young woman told them that that wasn't going to happen anytime soon. For now, Wilder was comatose.

In Renee's other hand, she held her precious locket. The doctors had returned it to her after doing surgery on Wilder. While she wondered how it had ended up with him, since she knew that she had left it in the cave of the Hippocampus, she was grateful to have it back. Opening it up, she saw her father's face smiling at her. Looking at her father now, it broke her heart to see him so weak and vulnerable, unable to smile at her like he used to, unable to tell her that everything would be alright, even though she knew that it would be a lie. She closed the locket.

Another tear fell from Renee's eyes and she wiped it away. She had been crying on and off ever since they'd reached the hospital. She knew it wouldn't make a difference, knew that her tears wouldn't heal her father, but they just wouldn't stop.

As her mind began to replay the times she had been sick, and her father had sat by her bed and sang to her, she thought of a song she had heard a few years ago and memorized, but never sang when Wilder was around. It was too sad. The words came back to her now, and she couldn't stop them as they escaped her lips.

"_How will I start__  
__Tomorrow without you here?__  
__Whose heart will guide me__  
__When all the answers disappear?__Is it too late?__  
__Are you too far gone to stay?__  
__Best friends forever__  
__Should never have to go away._

_What will I do?__  
__You know I'm only half without you.__  
__How will I make it through?_

_If only tears could bring you back to me.__  
__If only love could find a way.__  
__What I would do, what I would give__  
__If you returned to me someday,__  
__Somehow, someway,__  
__If my tears could bring you back to me._

_I'd cry you an ocean__  
__If you'd sail on home again.__  
__Waves of emotion__  
__Will carry you, I know they can._

_Just love will guide you__  
__And your heart will chart the course.__  
__Soon you'll be drifting__  
__Into the arms of your true north._

_Look in my eyes__  
__And you'll see a million tears have gone by__  
__And still they're not dry._

_If only tears could bring you back to me.__  
__If only love could find a way.__  
__What I would do, what I would give__  
__If you returned to me someday,__  
__Somehow, someway,__  
__If my tears could bring you back to me._

_I'd hold you close__  
__And shout the words I only whispered before.__  
__For one more chance, for one last dance,__  
__There's nothing that I would not endure._

_If only tears could bring you back to me.__  
__If only love could find a way.__  
__What I would do, what I would give__  
__If you returned to me someday,__  
__Somehow, someway,__  
__If my tears could bring you back to me."_

One single tear fell from her eyes and landed on Wilder's hand as she sang the last few words. Unable to hold back the emotions that were now flooding through her, she buried her face in her father's chest and cried until she finally fell asleep.

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Please don't shoot me! Don't worry. This is not the end. We will see Wilder again.

If anyone is wondering, the song Renee sings is "If Only Tears," by the Midnight Sons.

Please review.


	13. Chapter 13

Nina Vale: I've never actually sang to someone while they were dying, or severely wounded like Wilder, but I like the idea of it. Hopefully, I will never have to.

Disclaimer: I do not own "Huntik."

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Chapter 13: Sisters

Renee slept for the rest of day and on into the morning. When she woke up, there was a girl setting a vase of flowers on the table next to Wilder's bed. She was wearing a maroon top, maroon arm sleeves, and a pink skirt. She had long, light-brown hair, and green eyes. When she turned to face Renee, the waking girl knew exactly who she was.

"Sophie Casterwill, I'm assuming?" she asked. The girl nodded.

"You assume correct," Sophie said. "How did you know who I was?"

"When you get mistaken for someone," Renee explained, "and then you meet someone who looks just like you, or very similar, well, I can do the math." Sophie smiled.

"I'm surprised you're not questioning why there's someone who looks exactly like you," she commented. Renee smiled back.

"They say that everyone has a double somewhere in this world," she said. "I guess you're mine. That, or you're really my twin sister that I didn't know I had because I don't have any memories before my dad found me." The smile left Sophie's face. Renee's smile quickly followed.

"You're not far off," Sophie said. "I did have a twin sister, but I thought she was dead." Quickly, Sophie told Renee about Serena and the fire that had killed their parents and the Titans that each Casterwill child receives at age three. "You have to admit, it's too much of a coincidence to be anything else."

"I don't believe in coincidences," Renee said. "Four years of my life are missing, and the pieces of the puzzle are all there. I just can't remember what the final picture looks like." Her hand went to her amulets, specifically Pegasus, and she was silent, looking as though she was listening to some voice that only she could hear. "Pegasus tells me that I really am Serena," she said after a moment. "I prefer 'Renee' though, if you don't mind."

Sophie shook her head, indicating that she didn't mind at all, and the girls sat in silence for a while. The revelation that they were twins was drowned out by the depressing atmosphere of the hospital room. A doctor came in once to check on Wilder's condition. Nothing had changed, and the time passed slowly and in silence. Sophie went to the cafeteria and came back with some fruit and muffins for the two of them to share. Renee didn't eat much. All of her attention was on her father.

"The doctors say that I should just let him die," Renee finally said, breaking the silence. "He saved my life, more than once since I met him, and yet I can do nothing to save him."

Sophie stared at her sister for a minute, then down at the face of the sleeping man. She thought back to all of her encounters with Wilder, lingering on the last couple of days. In that moment, she knew that she had to find a way to save him, not just for her sister, but for the man that she knew was hiding in there: the man that Renee knew, the man that Sophie was just beginning to know.

As night fell, and visiting hours came to an end, a doctor came in and told the girls that they had to leave, and that they could come back in the morning. Renee tried to protest, especially since the doctors hadn't made her leave the day before, but Sophie was finally able to convince her to leave.

"I don't think your father would want you to waste away in here," she said.

Renee wanted to tell Sophie that she knew nothing about what her father would want, except she knew that it was true. She followed Sophie, who led her to a Huntik Foundation safehouse where they could rest. Renee almost immediately fell asleep on one of the beds while Sophie sat awake on the other bed and pulled out her Cypherdex.

"Cypherdex," she whispered, not wanting to wake Renee, "give me everything you have on healing powers and Titans with healing abilities."

The first few results were powers that she already knew, like Everfight, but then a Titan's name came up which caught her eye. She researched it more, trying to learn all she could about it, and eventually fell asleep. Her Cypherdex, sensing that its mistress would not be using it again for a while, turned off.

* * *

Sophie woke up around nine in the morning. Looking around, she noticed that Renee was not there. Guessing where she had gone, Sophie got dressed and headed for the hospital, making a few calls as she walked. When she got to Wilder's room, she saw Renee sitting there on her father's right side, holding his hand. She didn't even look up when Sophie walked in. She just kept staring at her father, dried tear marks on her face.

"Hey, sis," Renee said.

"Hey." Sophie pulled up a chair and sat opposite of her twin. A moment of silence passed before she spoke again. "Renee, have you ever heard of the Titan Alicorn?"

"Yes," Renee answered. "It's the Titan that inspired the legends of unicorns. According to my research, it has miraculous healing abilities. If you're thinking about using it to heal my dad, I already thought about that. My research unfortunately didn't give any clues as to the Titan's location."

"It's at Huntik Foundation Headquarters in New York."

Renee's head snapped up and she looked at Sophie, curiosity, doubt, and a bit of hope in her eyes.

"How do you know that?" she asked.

"I did my own research last night," Sophie answered. "It was found a few hundred years ago, remaining in possession of a single Seeker family until the Foundation was formed, when it was given to them for safekeeping." She paused, taking a deep breath before continuing. "My research also told me that hundreds of Seekers have tried to bond with Alicorn and none have succeeded. There is a chance that it will refuse to help you."

"If there is even a chance that my father could be saved," Renee began, "then I'm going to take it." She started to stand up, but then sat back down again and looked at Wilder. "I can't leave him. The doctors already want to pull the plug. If I just leave him like this. . ." She couldn't even finish saying it.

"Don't worry," Sophie said, standing up. "I've got it covered."

She went over to the door and waved. Not thirty seconds later, Den and Harrison walked into the room.

"We'll keep an eye on him for you," Den said.

"If any of the doctors try anything, they'll be the ones who will need a doctor," Harrison added.

Renee didn't say anything. She just ran up to the two boys and hugged them. Sophie laughed a bit when she saw that both Den and Harrison were blushing. They both glared at her.

"I don't know how long this is going to take, so. . ." Renee began to say after letting the boys go.

"Not a problem," Sophie interrupted. "They'll switch out with Lok and Zhalia in two hours. They've all agreed to take shifts until we come back."

Renee almost started crying again, but she took a deep breath instead. Now was not the time for tears.

"Thank you," she said before turning to Sophie. "Let's go. I don't want to leave my dad any longer than I have to."

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Seekers, we have a mission.

To find out how the mission goes, please review.

P.S.: I won't be able to update next Friday. I will be in Oregon celebrating Thanksgiving with my grandparents, and I will not have access to my laptop. Even if I did, the Internet connection isn't very good up there. I will update as soon as I get the chance after that. Please be patient.


	14. Chapter 14

Nina Vale: The mission is on. There will be more Casterwill reunions in future chapters. Muahahahahahaha!

Disclaimer: I do not own "Huntik."

I'm sorry this is a day late, but, as I said at the end of the last chapter, I was on vacation and didn't have access to my computer. I will update next Friday like I normally do. For now, enjoy!

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Chapter 14: The Mission – Part 1

Sophie and Renee jogged to an isolated beach with a wooden dock. A pier stretched out and into the water. The girls ran to the very end of it. Looking around to make sure they were alone, Renee pulled out an amulet.

It looked like an upside-down gold horseshoe, with a blue gem in the middle and surrounded by orange waves.

"Help us, Hippocampus!"

Renee invoked the Titan, which appeared in a flash of sea-green light. The light disappeared below the water for a moment, then the Hippocampus jumped out of the water like a dolphin, spraying the girls with water. It dived back into the water and then came back up and swam to the pier. The horse part, which consisted of the head, the front legs, and the torso, was about the size of a very large draft horse. The tail stretched out behind it for a few more yards. The Hippocampus shimmered with scales that were shades of purple, pink, blue, yellow, and green. Its front legs and head were lined with fins of different shapes and sizes (**A/N: Basically, just picture the Hippocampus from "Percy Jackson."**).

The Hippocampus turned to the side and stayed still as the girls got on, with Renee sitting in front and Sophie right behind her. As soon as the girls were settled, Hippocampus dove under the water and started swimming towards New York.

The girls should have been freezing due to the temperature of the Atlantic Ocean, but they didn't feel any cold at all. They both held their breath at first, but, when they couldn't hold it in anymore, they started breathing normally and found that they could breathe as easily as if they were on dry land, just like Wilder had said. While it took planes a few hours to travel across the Atlantic and it took quite a few days for ships to travel the same distance, only an hour passed before the girls found themselves flying past the Statue of Liberty.

Hippocampus took the girls to a pier that was blocked off from any spectators, so they didn't have to worry about anyone seeing them. The girls got off, surprised to find themselves completely dry, and Renee called back Hippocampus to its amulet. They walked away from the beach and into the city, with Sophie leading the way since she knew where they were supposed to go.

"How are we going to get the amulet?" Renee asked. "Are we going to sneak in or something?"

"No," Sophie answered. "I called a friend on the Huntik Council, explaining the situation, and he agreed to take us to the Titan."

"Who is he?"

"Dante Vale."

"The Huntik Foundation's number one Seeker?" Renee asked. "You know him?"

"I met him two years ago," Sophie answered. "He was our team's leader. After we defeated the Blood Spirals, he was offered a place on the Huntik Council."

"Who are the Blood Spirals?"

Sophie explained to Renee about Casterwill and the Betrayer, the Spiral Mark that had first summoned the Nullifiers to Earth, how the Blood Spirals were the Betrayer's followers and wanted to bring back the Nullifiers, and how they were the ones who had burned their home and killed their parents, causing them to become separated. When Sophie told her about her encounters with Kiel, ending with his defeat, Renee smiled.

"He should count his blessings that you got to him before I did," she said. "I would've ripped that guy to pieces." Sophie laughed.

The conversation would have continued, except that they had reached Huntik Foundation HQ. The girls walked in and were immediately greeted by Dante and Teien.

"Welcome, Sophie and Serena Casterwill," Teien said.

"Who are you and how do you know my true identity?" Renee asked, hoping she didn't sound too rude.

"Teien Casterwill," the woman said, taking off her mask. "Elder of the Casterwill House of Strategists and member of the Huntik Council."

"How did you know we were coming?" Sophie asked. She had only called Dante, and had asked him to keep it all a secret until Renee was ready to reveal herself.

"She has the phone lines tapped," Dante answered with an apologetic smile. "I don't know what the key words are, but you said them."

"I'd love to keep chatting," Renee said before someone else could say something, "but every second I waste is another second taken away from my father's life."

Dante nodded, then led the way to the amulet storage rooms, the women following him every step of the way. They reached the room reserved for Titans that were difficult to bond with, stored in small safes that lined the walls. There weren't very many that had amulets in them. Dante opened one of the safes and took out an amulet, handing it to Renee.

The amulet of Alicorn was very similar to the amulets of Hippocampus and Pegasus: an upside-down horseshoe with a gem in the middle. The differences were the colors and the decoration beyond the horseshoe. The horseshoe was dark gray and the gem was pink. Surrounding the horseshoe was a steel-blue, eight-pointed star.

Renee was silent for a minute, looking at the amulet. The others were waiting for a reaction. After a while, Sophie spoke up.

"Is something wrong?" she asked. "Did the Titan not bond?" Renee shook her head and blinked her eyes, as if she were coming out of a trance.

"Sorry, what?" Renee didn't seem to notice that she had been frozen.

"I know you have a lot of hope riding on this Titan," Dante said, "but please remember that Alicorn has turned away hundreds of Seekers. It may choose not to bond with you."

"I don't care if it doesn't want to bond with me!" Renee shouted, a few tears escaping her eyes. "I just want to save my father!"

At that moment, a golden light began to emanate from the amulet, surrounding Renee and making her glow. There was a blinding flash, and everyone covered their eyes. When they looked back up, there was a Titan standing in the room.

Alicorn was pure white, with a golden mane, tail, and hooves. A horn, just over one foot long and shining like diamonds, protruded from the middle of her forehead. She looked at each of the Seekers in turn, her eyes resting at last on Renee.

Seeker and Titan gazed into each others' eyes for several silent moments. The audience members, holding their breaths, were just waiting for a reaction of some kind. Finally, Alicorn took a step back and _bowed _to Renee. After a few seconds of shock, Renee curtsied back. As she stood back up, Alicorn returned to her amulet and Renee turned to face the others.

"She bonded with me," the girl whispered. "She can save my dad."

"Then we'd better hurry back to Velos," Sophie said. Renee just nodded before following her out of the storage room.

Dante and Teien guided the girls back to the entrance, wishing them luck on their return trip. As the girls ran off into the city, the two members of the Huntik Council turned back to see the rest of the Council members standing there with shocked looks on their faces.

"There's two of them?" Metz asked.

Dante rolled his eyes as he prepared what to say to his mentor.

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They have the amulet. Now it's time to save Wilder.

I'll explain later a little bit about why Alicorn refused so many Seekers. Until then, please review.


	15. Chapter 15

Nina Vale: Good theory. Not going to confirm or deny it until the chapter where I actually talk about it.

D. N. S Akina: I'd be surprised too if I were them.

Disclaimer: I do not own "Huntik."

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Chapter 15: The Mission – Part 2

Renee was tired from bonding with Alicorn and having already invoked Hippocampus once and keeping him invoked for an hour, so it took them twice as long to travel back across the Atlantic to Velos. In an attempt to make up for lost time, Renee sprinted towards the hospital once she was on dry land and had called back Hippocampus. Sophie was having a bit of trouble trying to stay with her.

They were about ten minutes away from the hospital, having been gone for just about five hours, when Sophie's cell phone rang. She picked it up, still running after Renee, and talked to the person on the other end. Her eyes grew wide. As she hung up, she called to her sister, having to shout in order to be heard.

"Renee!" she cried. "We have to hurry! I just got a call from Lok! He overheard two doctors talking about pulling the plug with or without your permission!"

The only reaction she got was Renee putting on a double burst of Nimblefire. Sophie did the same in order to keep up. What would normally be a ten-minute run now only took them three minutes.

Renee ran into the hospital, Sophie right behind her, and headed straight for Wilder's room. One of the nurses, who was in on the plan to pull the plug, shouted out to anyone within hearing range to stop the girls. The girls, however, were able to avoid any arms trying to grab them, legs trying to trip them, and various machines, buckets, and anything else the doctors threw in their way in an unsuccessful effort to slow them down.

They arrived at Wilder's room to see Den, Harrison, and Lok on the ground, having been sedated to prevent them from ruining the plan, and three doctors surrounding Wilder's bed, one with his hand on the plug hooked up to the machines that were the only things keeping that man alive. When they saw them, the other two doctors grabbed Renee and Sophie and held them back. Renee, having expected something like this, already had the amulet in her hand. All she had to do was speak the words.

"Save him, Alicorn!"

Alicorn emerged in a flash of golden light. When the doctors saw her, they gasped and stepped back. Alicorn ignored them. She walked up to Wilder and placed the tip of her horn on the bullet wound. A white light glowed there for a few seconds, then faded. Alicorn stepped back.

The whole room seemed to hold its breath as the occupants stared at the sleeping man. For a while, it seemed as if it hadn't worked. Then, Wilder's eyes flickered and opened. They glanced around the room, coming to rest on his daughter.

"Renee?" the man said in a weak voice.

Renee, who was crying harder than she ever had before, ran to her father and threw her arms around him. Wilder, who'd been thinking that he was a dead man and would never see his daughter again, also started crying.

Sophie slowly backed out of the room, glaring at the doctors and gesturing for them to also leave. The doctors, knowing that they were in enough trouble as it was, picked up the three unconscious boys and followed her out, leaving the father and daughter alone. They would have run away as soon as they were in the hallway, but Grier's men were standing right there and Simplemind-ed them, as they had with all the other doctors and nurses. Sophie smiled.

Mission accomplished.

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Wilder is alive! You can stop pointing your guns at me now. I wasn't gonna let him die after all that.

Short. I know. I'll have more in the next chapter. For now, please review. And if any of you are crying, here's some cyber-tissues.


	16. Chapter 16

Nina Vale: Reminder that they are in Velos, not on Sutos.

Guest: She does love him.

D.N.S Akina: Glad you love it. Here's the update.

Disclaimer: I do not own "Huntik."

!#$%$#%&amp;*^&amp;($%#TR~ #%$$%E^*&amp;%^&amp;$^$~ #$E #$%^^%$&amp;(%#^ ^

Chapter 16: The Past Two Years

Wilder was released from the hospital an hour later.

Renee had wanted to rip apart the doctors who had tried to kill her father, but they didn't remember trying to pull the plug due to the Simplemind, so she was allowed nothing more than a few death glares. Lok, Den, and Harrison woke up from their naps, a little disoriented at first, but they shook it off. Sophie questioned Grier's men about why they were there. They told her that Dante had called Grier, telling him that Renee had successfully bonded but that it would take her a while to get back, and he might want to send someone to help if the doctors tried anything while she was gone and to Simplemind any non-Seekers who saw the Titan. Grier had sent the soldiers to Velos to wait for the girls. When the two had flown past them on their way to the hospital, the soldiers had followed.

Zhalia had been at the local grocery store during all the chaos, so she missed it. Sophie and the boys gave her the basics on what had happened, but she still wasn't happy about not being present.

While she was interrogating the boys on why they could hold off Titans and enemy Seekers, yet couldn't win against doctors with needles, Renee walked out of the hospital with Wilder. Both of them were smiling big.

"Can't believe I'm saying this," Lok began, "but I'm actually glad to see you, Wilder."

"Same here," Den added. "We thought you were a goner." Zhalia smacked him upside the head. "Ow!"

"Nice to know you care," Wilder said to the boys before turning to Sophie. "Renee told me you helped her find Alicorn. Thank you." Sophie nodded. "So you two are really sisters?" Wilder asked, looking back and forth from Sophie to Renee.

"Yes," Sophie said, "but don't think that just because your adopted daughter is my twin sister you can act like my father. Lucas already tries to do that and it's irritating."

"Who's Lucas?" Renee asked.

"Our older brother," Sophie answered. "I thought he was dead, but he revealed himself to me almost a year ago, just before we encountered the Blood Spirals for the first time. He tried to make me give up being a Seeker and go into hiding. He might do the same to you if he finds out you're alive."

"I'd like to see him try," Renee said with a mischievous grin on her face. Wilder chuckled.

The group went back to Sutos, where Grier was waiting for them on the dock. He didn't look happy.

"Are you disappointed that I survived?" Wilder asked as the group walked off the boat.

"No," Grier answered. "I'm glad to see you up and about, but something else has happened."

"It has to do with Carter, doesn't it?" Renee asked.

"Perhaps you should tell us more about where you've been and who exactly this man is," Grier answered.

Renee looked like she really didn't want to talk about it, but she nodded. The group walked back to the house where the Huntik team was staying and sat around the living room. All their attention was focused on Renee, who had to take several deep breaths before starting her story.

"I'm sure you've all figured out by now that I was kidnapped," she started. "I was taken by a secret branch of the Organization, one that only the Professor knew about, aside from the actual members of this branch. Their purpose was to experiment with the bond between Titans and Seekers and try to strengthen it to the point where the Seeker would actually gain the abilities of the Titans. For example, if the Titan had the power of flight, the Seeker would gain a pair of wings. If the Titan was a warrior, the Seeker might gain armor and fighting knowledge. I thought I might become a real-live Maximum Ride in my time with them, since I was bonded to Pegasus, but they gave me the Night Mares to see what abilities I would gain from my bond with them.

"Unfortunately, the bond between Titans and Seekers is a delicate thing. Any meddling of any kind could have disastrous consequences. Most of the experiments ended in a horrible death. There was a girl I befriended who had a Titan with fire powers; she burned up right before my eyes. There was boy, no older than ten, who had a Titan with ice powers; he froze, turning into an ice sculpture. The scientists put him out in the hot sun and made us watch as he melted. I could write a whole series of horror books based on my experiences from just that first month.

"Carter was one of the scientists. He took a 'special interest' in my case." Renee put her fingers up to make air quotations around those two words. "He was with me practically 24/7. Even when he wasn't supposed to be working with me, I would see him out of the corner of my eye, standing there and watching me. I'd never had a stalker before, but I knew one when I saw one." Wilder's hand clenched, as if he was imagining himself strangling Carter.

"I didn't know what was going to happen to me – if I would end up like the others who had died or if I would find some way to escape – but I would never find out. There was an agreement made between the Professor and the scientists: if he were to somehow be defeated, the scientists were to terminate the experiments and any witnesses who might reveal what they had been doing. That, of course, meant that any and all Seekers they were experimenting on were to be killed." Everyone in the room gasped. "I would have ended up just like the rest of them, except Carter came to me and gave me a choice: I could either stay and be killed, or he could take me away and I could live with him. I thought my chances of escape were better if I was alive, so I agreed to go with him.

"I lived with him for about eight months. During that time, I discovered that it was going to be a lot harder to escape than I had originally thought. Carter had plenty of traps around his house in an effort to keep me there, but I was patient. I learned where every trap was, what it did, and how to avoid or work around it. I had my escape all planned out. On the night I had prepared to run, Carter came into my room. He hadn't tried anything the whole eight months I had lived with him, but, on that night, he tried to rape me."

The whole room gasped again. Wilder looked ready to jump out of his seat and go slaughter Carter. Grier pinned him down with a glare.

"He never actually did anything to me," Renee continued. "I didn't give him a chance. I fought him off, knocking him out at one point, and ran. I collected the supplies I had put aside for that night, made my way through the traps, and got the heck out of there. I thought I was home-free, despite the fact that Carter's house was in Russia, right by the Pacific Ocean, and I had one heck of a walk back to Prague ahead of me, but I was wrong. Carter was tracking me. I thought he might have me micro-chipped, but I was able to disprove that theory.

"I headed down into China, passing through Mongolia at one point, down and into Nepal and India, visited a lot of the countries ending in 'stan,' through a lot of the Middle East, actually, and into Africa, mainly Egypt, but I was in Libya for a while. At that point, I realized that I was close to the resting place of one of the Titans I had researched – the Hippocampus – so I decided to take a little side trip. I still had my locket with me, and, when I read the clue on the stone, I thought it might be a good way to leave a clue for my dad, in case he happened to visit the cave. It was still hard to leave it behind, though." Renee paused for a few seconds before continuing.

"I moved around so much and traveled to so many different countries in an attempt to throw Carter off my trail. I didn't make contact with any people, though. I had asked a couple one time directions to the Czech Republic, and a few days later I learned that they had been killed in a horrible accident. I knew it was no coincidence, and no accident. Carter had killed them because I had spoken to them, because they had seen me. I stayed away from humans so that no one would suffer the same fate. I would go to a town here and there, but only for supplies. The rest of the time, I stayed away from any form of civilization."

Renee was silent for a minute, her head down, catching her breath. The others were also silent, going over her story in their minds, marveling at the strength of the girl sitting right there on the couch, to face such horrors and to travel so far on her own. Finally, Renee looked up.

"That's basically it," she said. "That's my story." She looked over at Grier. "Now, what happened to Carter?"

"He's dead."

Renee's expression was one of shock, relief, and anger: shocked that Carter was dead, relieved that she didn't have to worry about him anymore, and angry that she hadn't killed him herself.

"How?"

"He must have been doing some of those experiments on himself," Grier answered. "I went to go interrogate him, and he tried to invoke a Titan with fire abilities, despite the fact that he was still wearing the cuffs that neutralize Seeker powers. I guess it didn't matter, because the cuffs shattered as he tried to invoke the Titan. Just like that girl you mentioned, he burned up right in front of me. He's nothing but a pile of ashes now."

Renee didn't say anything for a few seconds, trying to accept the fact that the monster who had tried to rape her and then pursued her halfway across the world was dead. Finally she said, "Good riddance," and stood up and walked out of the door. She walked down to the beach and stared out at the water, unknowingly standing in the exact spot where Wilder had been standing when the team had first arrived.

Everyone else watched her through the windows, waiting to see what she would do. After a minute, Renee screamed, loud and long. When she was finished, she sank down in the sand and pulled her knees up to her chest.

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Another chapter done. More stories and explanations in the next chapter. Please review this one first.


	17. Chapter 17

Nina Vale: Yes, there are more stories to come. Renee _has _been through a lot, but she's a tough girl. She can handle it.

Disclaimer: I do not own "Huntik."

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Chapter 17: Catching Up

The team, Wilder, and Grier had turned away from the windows. They sat there in silence for a while, then Cherit spoke up.

"What do we do now?" he asked. Harrison answered that question first.

"There's nothing left to do except enjoy the rest of our vacation," he said, standing up and walking towards his room. "I'm going surfing. I need a break from all this drama."

"I'm with Harrison," Den said, standing up and following his brother. "Surfing sounds good."

"Let's have a surfing contest," Lok called as he jogged after them.

"I'll be the judge," Cherit said, flying after the boys.

"I need to be heading back," Grier said as he stood up. "With everything that's happened the past couple of days, I've fallen behind on some paperwork. Good day to you all." With that, the prince walked out.

"I think I'll go out and work on my tan," Zhalia said, standing up and stretching. "What about you two?"

"I'd like to talk to my sister some more," Sophie said to Zhalia before turning to Wilder, "but I think you should go talk to her."

"There is a lot we need to catch up on," Wilder said. "We've always been pretty close, and now we've been apart for two years. We need some daddy-daughter time."

"In that case," Sophie said as she stood up, "I think I'll also work on my tan." She followed Zhalia back to their room as Wilder walked out of the house and went and sat down next to his daughter. Renee turned and smiled at him.

"You know where I've been the last two years," she joked. "What have you been up to while I was gone?"

"I tried to look for you, at first," Wilder started, smiling back at her, "but I didn't have the resources that I needed available to me. After the Professor was defeated, I tried to take his place as leader of the Organization."

Renee stared at him with a blank look for a few seconds, then started laughing hysterically. She was laughing so loud that the boys came over with their surfboards.

"What's wrong with her?" Lok asked.

"Nothing with a name and definition," Wilder answered. "Trust me. I've had her tested for every mental disorder you could think of."

The boys walked away from Wilder and Renee, who was still laughing, and headed down to the water. Sophie and Zhalia came out wearing their bikinis and holding towels and bottles of sunscreen. They looked at Renee with raised eyebrows for a second, then decided that they were better off not asking. They laid down their towels and started applying sunscreen while watching the boys have their surfing contest.

Renee finally stopped laughing long enough to say, "Good one, Dad." Then she realized that he wasn't laughing and his face was completely serious.

"You're not kidding," she said. Wilder shook his head. "You would have quit before the first week was over."

"Not before I found you," Wilder said. "I would have probably quit after you were safely back home, but not a second earlier."

"So how did you end up here?" Renee asked.

"The Huntik team had asked Grier for help in gaining information about the leader of the Blood Spirals," Wilder began, "someone who had formerly been the Professor's right-hand man. I tried to get the information before them, so there was a big fight. Grier defeated me and brought me back here as his prisoner, of a sort. I tried to escape several times so that I could get back to searching for you, but they always caught me."

"I'm not surprised," Renee said with a smile. "You've always been horrible at stealth missions." She laughed as Wilder tickled her side.

"Maybe," he said, "but, this time, failure didn't mean someone else got the Titan before me. Failure meant another day you were gone from my world. I was afraid that I might never see you again." He wrapped his arm around Renee and hugged her. "I love you, sweetheart."

"I love you, too, Daddy." Renee hugged him back. Spotting Sophie out of the corner of her eye, she said, "So you fought Sophie a lot. How did you manage to have the stomach to attack her, considering she looks just like me?"

"When I first found out about her and saw pictures," Wilder began, "I thought she _was _you." Renee raised an eyebrow at him. "Don't give me that look. You disappeared around the same time that she started helping the Huntik Foundation, so I was suspicious. I did some more research on her, though, and concluded that she couldn't be you." He sighed. "That didn't make it any easier. Whenever I was fighting her, I kept chanting in my head 'She's not Renee. She's not Renee.' It didn't really help. Whenever I would run into her again, it felt like the universe was mocking me, constantly reminding me of my failure to protect you. I wanted to get rid of her forever just so that I wouldn't have to face her again and be reminded of what had happened. I would often have nightmares that I was attacking you and not Sophie. I will admit that I was a little relieved when Grier brought me here, because it meant that I didn't have to fight Sophie anymore. I still had nightmares for a while, but they eventually stopped." He paused and got a look on his face like he had suddenly thought of something important. He turned to Renee. "Speaking of nightmares. . ."

"I still have them," Renee said, knowing what her father was going to ask. "I had one the night I came here for supplies. I got caught because I woke up screaming. Normally I would have gotten the heck out of there so as not to leave a trail for Carter, but I was traumatized from the nightmare. That, combined with weakness from a lack of food and sleep, is why I wasn't able to get away."

"And when you were kidnapped?"

"I still had them. The girl I knew, the one who burned up, died around the time they started. I had a few nightmares about her. The scientists kept us in cages when they weren't experimenting on us. My nightmares normally take place in a large room, but, in the nightmares I had while captured, I was in a cage that kept getting smaller and smaller. I'll never look at cages the same way again. The nightmares lasted longer than they usually do, but they eventually stopped."

"I'm sorry I wasn't there to help you," Wilder said, hugging her closer.

"I wasn't your fault that I was kidnapped," Renee said. "Don't you start with any of that Of-course-it-was-my-fault-I-was-there-I'm-your-father-I-should-have-been-able-to-protect-you crap," she said as Wilder opened his mouth to say something just like that. "My kidnapping was the fault of my kidnappers and no one else. Don't beat yourself up about it."

"Too late."

Renee gave her dad that look that parents give their children when they find out they've done something they were repeatedly told not to.

"What would you do without me?" Renee asked.

"Crash and burn," Wilder replied, "which is exactly what happened." Renee laughed at that. "Anything else you want to know?"

"Yes," Renee answered, reaching up to finger the earring in Wilder's left ear. "What's with these? You know I'm not a fan of guy-piercings."

"Which is exactly the reason I got these," Wilder said. Renee raised an eyebrow at him. "After you were kidnapped, I was afraid that I would forget about you. I wanted something on me at all times to remind me of why I kept moving forward." He fingered the first piercing in his right ear. "So I got this one. When a year had passed, I got the one in my left ear."

"And it's now been two years," Renee said, looking at the second piercing in his right ear, "so you have three. You're not going to get any more, are you?"

"Only if you disappear for another year," Wilder said.

"I'm not going anywhere any time soon," Renee said. "Besides, I think three is enough."

Wilder smiled and hugged Renee, who hugged him back. The rest of the day was spent telling stories, joking and laughing the whole time. After a while, it felt like the entire kidnapping was just a dream.

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And all is back to normal. What did you think of my story about Wilder's earrings? Was it too much?

This story isn't over yet. I'll write a few more chapters. Please review this one first.


	18. Chapter 18

Nina Vale: It did make him angry, which is why he reacted to Sophie the way he did.

Disclaimer: I do not own "Huntik."

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Chapter 18: The Brother Trap

The rest of the vacation went by smoothly. Renee and Wilder spent a lot of time with the Huntik team, Renee spending most of it with Sophie. The two talked about their childhoods, what they loved most about being a Seeker, and how they were going to introduce Renee to the rest of the family.

The answer came three weeks later when the team received a flyer for a Seeker convention in New York City. Renee called to tell Sophie that she and Wilder had also received a flyer. Sophie had then called Dante, inquiring about this strange coincidence, and he informed her that the rest of the Casterwills had been sent flyers as well. The team and the Wilders RSVP'd, and soon got the call that the other Casterwills, specifically Lucas, had also done so. With that information, the plots began.

Renee and Wilder came to stay with the team at Sophie's house in Venice the week before they left for the convention. The first few days, everyone offered different ideas on how to reveal Sophie's long-lost twin. Harrison wanted to have the pair just walk up to Lucas and say "Hi," and see how he would react. The rest of them dismissed that idea, claiming that it was "too boring and obvious." Den suggested that Wilder and Renee just go to the convention as themselves. Lucas would run into them eventually. Zhalia said that that wouldn't work because they wouldn't know when he would find them and everyone else might be all over the place. They would have to keep up-to-date on everyone's locations to make sure that someone was there to explain everything and keep Lucas from freaking out too much and doing something drastic. Den complained that freaking him out was exactly what they wanted to do. The plan was also labeled with the other one under "too boring and obvious."

Thinking about it over in his head, Lok finally suggested a plan that everyone agreed on. The rest of the week was spent in preparation. They flew out to Manhattan the day before the convention started.

* * *

The Seeker convention was three days long and took place at Foundation headquarters. There were booths that taught powers to new Seekers, booths that held amulets for Seekers to try and bond with, and other booths that you would normally see at a convention. It was basically a normal convention, just with a Seeker twist to it. It was a time and place set aside for Seekers to come and hang out and socialize.

Everyone in the team went their own way, for the most part. Lok went straight for the nerdy stuff. Den and Harrison just strolled around and looked at everything, since this was their first convention. Zhalia was working at one of the teaching booths, having been asked to work there because of her mastery of ThoughtSpecter. Wilder had volunteered to work at one of the amulet booths, encouraged by Renee, who said that he could match even the most stubborn of Titans to the right Seeker.

And where were Sophie and Renee?

Sophie had headed straight for the books, non-fiction genre to be precise. On the other side of the convention, Renee had spotted booths for a bunch of fandoms of which she was a member. She'd nearly fainted at the sight of them all.

Each member of the team, including Wilder and Renee, had an earpiece that would allow them to communicate with the others. They also each had a map of the convention, and frequently checked it to be sure of their location. Why did they have these? It was part of the plan.

The plan first came into effect early in the day. Lok had spotted Lucas first, walking with Lane and Dellix through the fandom booths. Lucas was standing at one end of the aisle, next to the LotR booth, while Renee was at the other end at the Hunger Games booth, currently trying on dresses the booth was selling, dresses that were identical to the ones Katniss Everdeen wore. Lok fiddled with his earpiece.

"Loksmith to Horsefeathers. Come in, Horsefeathers." The codenames had been Den's idea, and Lok wasn't too happy about his.

"Horsefeathers here," Renee answered. "Help me out here. I'm trying to decide between the red dress from the first movie and the Mockingjay dress from the second movie."

"Lucas is coming your way," Lok said, ignoring her dilemma. "He's over by 'Lord of the Rings.'"

"Got it. Never mind about the dresses. I look terrible in red, plus the fire element won't do anything to help my phobia."

With that, Lok went back to looking at puzzle boxes and Renee made her purchase of the Mockingjay dress. She went to the other booths and looked around as she made her way down the aisle, taking her time and not rushing things. She was at the Doctor Who booth, looking at a poster of Van Gogh's exploding TARDIS painting when she finally met Lucas for the first time.

"I should have known you were a Whovian, Sophie."

Renee turned around to see Lucas standing there with a slight smile on his face, though she could see disapproval in his eyes. She smiled back, nice and sweet.

"And what is that supposed to mean, dear brother?" Renee asked with a perfect accent, sounding exactly like her sister.

"Nothing," Lucas answered, the smile dropping a few centimeters.

"Lucas here doesn't approve of anything that falls into the genre of fantasy," Lane said. Lucas turned and glared at her.

"This coming from a boy who fights with Titans and uses magic? Isn't that like the pot calling the kettle 'black'?" She hadn't known him for even five seconds, but Renee already didn't like this guy.

"I just don't see the point in watching a show about a man who travels through time and space in a wooden box that's bigger on the inside, which is really quite ridiculous, and takes several female companions who always end up with a terrible fate. It's just a great big waste."

Everyone in the booth gasped and turned to Lucas, who was just now realizing that he had insulted one of the most popular TV shows in the world, with one of the biggest fandoms, while surrounded by several members of said fandom. Someone pressed the button on a toy Dalek, which immediately said what everyone was thinking.

"Exterminate! Exterminate! Exterminate!"

Lucas may have been an idiot, but if there was one thing he was good at it was running away. He walked away from the booth as fast as he could while dodging people going from one booth to the next.

Renee turned back to the toys, shirts, and posters, and found a remote-controlled Dalek that came up to her knee. Within the next thirty seconds, it was hers. She asked the person who ran the booth if they could hold it for her until the end of the day so that she wasn't carting it around the entire convention. They agreed, and she made a call as she walked out of the booth.

"Horsefeathers to Bookworm. Are you there?"

"Bookworm here," Sophie answered. "Having fun?"

"Tons," Renee said. "There was that couple of seconds I ran into B.B., but that was over pretty quick and I'm not about to let him ruin this trip for me." "B.B." in this case stood for "Brainless Brother."

"You ran into Lucas? What happened?"

Renee quickly told Sophie about Lok's call and the incident in the Doctor Who booth. Sophie laughed, having been a fan of the show herself for quite a few years. When Renee told her about the Dalek she bought, she could practically feel Sophie smiling and plotting. They were twins, after all.

"I can think of so many ways to torture him with that," Sophie said.

"Let's wait until we finish up the torture we've already got going before we start on another one," Renee said.

Sharing a few more laughs at their brother's expense, the sisters closed the call and continued exploring the convention.

Yes, Renee was pretending to be Sophie, but only for now. How did they pull it off? Well, after coming up with the idea, Sophie had spent the remaining days before the convention teaching Renee how to act like her. The accent was no problem, as Renee had been to England quite a few times and spoken with an accent to fit in. The behavior took more effort, as Renee was more carefree and energetic than Sophie, but she was also a very good actress. Also, Renee had spent a lot of time with Sophie on Sutos and had gotten to know her sister very well.

Zhalia had also taught Renee ThoughtSpecter. With it, Renee was able to cast a perfect illusion over herself to make her look just like Sophie. The team had been worried that she wouldn't have been able to master it in time, but Renee was a fast learner.

Renee had practiced on the boys and on some of Lok and Sophie's classmates from school that they met in town, and she was able to fool all of them. She had tried it once on Wilder, but the man knew his daughter too well to fall for her little trick, even with the illusion.

The communicators were to let Renee know when Lucas was coming so that she could take on the roll of Sophie ahead of time. Renee tried to make it easier on herself by acting like her sister most of the time. It wasn't all that hard, and she knew that the convention was big. There wasn't a big chance that she would be running into Lucas every other minute. Still, he had fallen for the charade, and there were two more days of the convention to go.

This was going to be so much fun.

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So what did you think? How did you like the idea of the convention? Did you like their plan? It's like "The Parent Trap," only they're fooling their brother instead of their parents, which is how I came up with the title for this chapter. I'm so looking forward to writing the revelation.

I wish I could just go to a store and buy Katniss' dresses. I almost didn't know what to write for Lucas to say about Doctor Who. I can't think of anything insulting about it.

Hope you all had a very merry Christmas.

Please review.


	19. Chapter 19

Nina Vale: Nice to know I've done something that no one else has done, referring to the Seeker Con. I usually worry that I'm just repeating stories that someone else has written.

Adlock221b: Yes, you get a cyber-cookie for "Rings of Akhaten." Lucas did bring it on himself.

Disclaimer: I do not own "Huntik."

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Chapter 19: Monster

During the three days of the convention Renee ran into Lucas a total of eight times, and each time she was able to fool him. He had no idea that the girl he was talking to wasn't Sophie. He did meet up with Sophie a few times, but he didn't seem to notice anything odd. The boys all told Renee that she should go into acting.

The best part of the plan was to take place during a ball at the end of the convention. It was mainly for elite Seekers and major leaders. The Huntik Council would be there, obviously, as well as the Casterwills and some of the team's good friends. They would all be there to see it.

"We're allowed to take cameras in, right?" Renee asked Sophie as the two of them, plus Zhalia, were getting ready for the ball in their hotel room.

"Technically, no," Sophie answered, "but I talked to Dante and he said he would sneak some in for us."

"If I didn't know any better," Zhalia said, "I'd say that Dante was enjoying our schemes a little too much."

"My dad would always get involved when I came up with one of my schemes," Renee said. "At least, the ones that didn't involve him getting hurt or humiliated in any way. One time I was trying to get back at this jerk from school that I caught kissing another girl after he had just asked me out. My dad had so many torture ideas they could have made a horror movie about my revenge."

"I am torn between curiosity and the feeling that I really do not want to know," Sophie finally said after a few minutes of silence.

"You really don't want to know," Renee told her sister, "unless you want to have nightmares so powerful and horrific, your great-grandchildren will be having them even after they're dead and buried."

"And you say your dad came up with those ideas?" Zhalia asked with a doubting look. "I can't see Wilder coming up with something that scary."

"You underestimate my dad when it comes to protecting me," Renee said with a smile on her face. "He took a bullet for me."

"Wish Lucas would be willing to take a bullet for me," Sophie said. "He would probably let the bullet hit me and then, while I'm dying, lecture me about how he was right and how I should have listened to him in the first place and gone into hiding."

"If that ever happens," Renee told her sister, "come back as a ghost and haunt his miserable backside for the rest of his life. Give _him _nightmares that his great-grandchildren will be having."

"I doubt that guy will ever meet someone willing to just have his children," Zhalia commented. "Never mind getting to the point where he may actually become a great-grandfather."

"If he ever did have children," Sophie said, "he wouldn't need me to give them nightmares. He can do that on his own."

"No arguments there," Renee said.

With that, the girls finished and left their hotel room to go join the guys in the lobby. Dante had made sure that they were in a different hotel from the one Lucas was staying in so that they wouldn't run into each other. The girls and Zhalia walked into the lobby, saw the guys, and walked over to them. The guys turned to look at them as they approached, and their jaws dropped.

Renee was wearing a floor-length teal dress with flowing, wrist-length, off-the-shoulder sleeves of a lighter shade. Her open-toe heels were about the same shade as her sleeves, and her hair was a little extra wavy tonight. The teal streak in her hair had recently been re-dyed. Sophie was wearing a knee-length, halter-top pink dress with a lighter pink sash around her middle and rhinestone decorated pink heels. Zhalia wore a dark blue dress that fell to the floor and was a bit more sheer the further it went to the ground. Her closed-toe heels were also dark, though not quite as dark, and she wore a necklace that Renee had bought for her.

"I may have to bring my Titans with me and fight off all the men that are gonna swarm around you," Wilder said, looking at his daughter.

"I'm perfectly capable of defending myself, thank you very much." Noticing what her father was wearing, she added, "Glad to have your old friend back?"

Wilder fixed his tie and straightened the jacket of his white suit. "Actually, I think I would have preferred it if I never saw this suit again."

"Are you kidding me?" Renee asked him with a disbelieving look.

"Yes, I am," he said with a smile. "I've missed this thing."

After a few more complements were exchanged, they all headed out to the parking lot and to the car they were taking. Wilder drove, Zhalia had shotgun, and the teens had the backseats.

The Huntik Council had reserved a manor just outside of the city for the ball. It was very large, with lots of rooms and spacious gardens outside. There would be a variety of activities besides the dance itself for the teens and younger kids. There was a game room, karaoke, a library, and a movie theater. If the girls needed to get away from Lucas, there were plenty of places they could choose from.

Dante was standing at the entrance and talking to Metz. He turned to say something when they walked up, but fell silent when he saw Zhalia. Metz took the cameras that Dante had been holding and handed them to the boys, who immediately snapped a picture of Dante's face. They then left Dante and Zhalia alone and headed down the hall.

"Is Lucas here yet?" Sophie asked Metz.

"He is," the German answered. "He's in the ballroom talking to Teien."

"Good," Renee said. "I wanted to check out the karaoke and see what songs are in the selection. If I find one of the songs I'm thinking about, we can really freak him out."

"Exactly what kind of song are you thinking of?" Harrison asked.

"The kind where your overprotective parents listen to the lyrics and then ask you why you even know that song well enough to have it memorized."

"Let's go," Sophie said. With that kind of description, she couldn't wait to see how Lucas would react.

"We'll keep an eye on Lucas," Lok said. "Send Cherit to the ballroom when you've got a song selected and we'll find a way to get him there."

The boys followed Metz to the ballroom while the girls and Cherit made their way to the karaoke room. They walked in to see a bunch of teenagers and young adults either standing or sitting on the couches and benches placed around the room and facing the stage, listening to a girl sing Kelly Clarkson's "You Found Me."

Peter was standing by the song selections. He was in charge of entering in the code for each song and playing it when the singer was ready. He smiled as the girls came toward him, having already been told about Renee. After the girls told him their plan, he handed over the binder with the song selections.

They were organized alphabetically, first by artist and then by song title. Renee flipped back and forth for a while before finding the one she wanted. Sophie sent Cherit to tell the guys that they were ready and Renee got in line behind the other singers. The boys, Lucas, Wilder, Dante, Zhalia, Metz, and a few other Casterwills walked in just as the singer before Renee finished. The audience clapped and the singer took a bow before handing the microphone to Renee and stepping off the stage.

Renee stepped up to the stage, smiled at Lucas and her friends and family, then nodded to Peter, who typed in the code and started the music. The intro began, and then Renee started to sing.

"_His little whispers:  
'Love me, love me.  
That's all I ask for.  
Love me, love me.'  
He battered his tiny fists to feel something.  
Wondered what it's like to touch and feel something._

_Monster,_  
_How should I feel?_  
_Creatures lie here_  
_Looking through the window._

_That night he caged her,_  
_Bruised and broke her._  
_He struggled closer,_  
_Then he stole her._  
_Violet wrists and then her ankles._  
_Silent Pain._  
_Then he slowly saw their nightmares were his dreams._

_Monster,_  
_How should I feel?_  
_Creatures lie here_  
_Looking through the windows._  
_Time will_  
_Hear their voices._  
_I'm a glass child._  
_I am Hannah's regrets._

_Monster,_  
_How should I feel?_  
_Turn the sheets down._  
_Murder ears with pillow lace._  
_There's bath tubs_  
_Full of glow flies._  
_Bathe in kerosene._  
_Their words tattooed in his veins, yeah!"_

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Cliffhanger! Sorry, you'll have to wait until the next chapter to see Lucas' reaction. You're welcome to guess what it'll be though.

For anyone who's wondering, the song is "Monster," by Meg and Dia.

I have a picture of Renee, Sophie, and Zhalia's dresses on my Deviantart account. My account name is ldsbabe. Take a look.

Please review.


	20. Chapter 20

Disclaimer: I do not own "Huntik."

!# %$#$^*&amp;^)(#*%$^%~R# $# %^%#*^&amp;($^%#&amp;^~# #$!# $Q^$%#&amp;$ ^&amp;!#%$

Chapter 20: Revelations

"SOPHIE!"

Lucas' cry drowned out all the applause that Renee got after the song was over. Knowing that she had succeeded, Renee handed the microphone to the next singer, walked off the stage and over to Lucas, and smiled sweetly.

"Yes?"

Looking around, and seeing that everyone was staring at them, Lucas grabbed Renee's arm and pulled her out of the room and into the hallway. He walked a few yards away from the door so that no one would hear them.

"Where did you hear that song and how do you know it well enough to have it memorized?" Lucas asked, more angry than anyone had ever seen him.

"First of all," Renee explained, "I heard the DotEXE remix while watching a music video and I wanted to know what the original song sounded like, so I looked it up. Second, it's got an awesome beat and I wanted to try and figure out what the lyrics meant. They're a little cryptic in some places."

Lucas sighed, trying to calm down. "I don't want you listening to that song ever again, or any song like it, and I definitely do not want you singing it, even when no one else is around to hear it."

"Excuse me? You are not my father. You are my brother."

"And our parents are dead, which means that _I _am in charge."

Now Renee was getting mad. "You didn't even know that I had survived the fire. And, even when you found out, you didn't come see me. If it weren't for the Red Comet, would you have let me go the rest of my life thinking you were dead?"

"Yes."

SLAP!

Lucas staggered back a couple of steps, then looked at Renee in shock with one hand on his cheek. The girl standing in front of him was furious; she practically had steam coming out of her ears.

"I could tell from the day I first met you that you didn't have a brain," Renee said through clenched teeth, "but now I can see that you also don't have a heart, and you're most certainly a coward. You're like the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and the Cowardly Lion all in one. I am ashamed to call you my brother and I am really glad that I don't remember you."

Now Lucas was really confused. "Sophie, what are you talking about? Of course you remember me."

"No, I don't, because I'm not Sophie."

As Lucas stood there in silence, trying to figure out what Renee was saying, Sophie walked up and stood next to Renee, shock, hurt, and betrayal on her face.

"Lucas?"

"Sophie?" As slow as the wheels were turning, Lucas finally figured it out and turned to Renee, eyes wide. "Serena?"

"I go by 'Renee' these days. Not that you would care."

With that, Renee ran off as fast as she could in her heels. Wilder ran after her, calling her name. Lucas stared as the blond ran past.

"What is he doing here and why does he care about Serena?"

"He's her father."

Lucas turned to stare at Sophie, eyes even wider than before. "He's her WHAT!?"

"He adopted her after he found her in an alley in Paris, with no memories of her previous life. He cares more about her than you could ever care about everyone in our whole family put together." With that, Sophie ran after her sister and Wilder.

Lucas stared after them, silent. The onlookers walked away, not wanting to deal with the Casterwill boy. Not for the first time, and certainly not for the last time, Lucas was left alone.

* * *

Renee ran out of the mansion completely and into the gardens. She would have kept running, except her feet were starting to ache because of her heels and her legs were giving out. Her injuries from all those years ago had never completely healed, and, several times when she'd been doing something that required her to be on her feet a lot, she'd had to stop and sit down at some point because it hurt too much.

She sat down on a bench as Wilder and Sophie caught up to her. Wilder sat on her left side and wrapped his arm around her, pulling her close. Sophie sat on her right side and held her hand as Renee started to cry.

"My brother's an idiot."

"I already knew that," Sophie said, "but I had no idea he was that bad. To think he would have let me gone my entire life without knowing. . ." She couldn't even complete the sentence.

"There are times when I look at other families and wish that I knew who mine were," Wilder said. "And there are other times where I'm glad that I don't."

"This was supposed to be fun," Renee said through her cries. "I thought this would be like one of those pranks you play on family members on April Fool's Day. It wasn't supposed to end in tears, except maybe for him."

"This is Lucas we're talking about," Sophie told her. "I was expecting him to pull out the whole give-up-being-a-Seeker-and-go-into-hiding thing. I should have known there would be something else. He's gotten worse ever since we defeated the Blood Spirals. Sometimes I wish he had stayed away from me. I think I would have preferred if he died with our parents." She paused for a moment. "Am I a horrible person for saying that?"

"No," Wilder and Renee answered at the same time.

"He knows about Renee now," Wilder said. "He's not going to leave her alone, either." He turned to his daughter. "You'll have to face him again sooner or later."

"I choose later," Renee mumbled.

"He's right, though," Sophie said. "We can't avoid him forever. If we don't go to him, he'll come to us."

"Do we have to go to him right now?" Renee asked. "Can't we stay out here for a little while longer? It's such a nice night."

Wilder didn't buy the act. "Your legs are hurting again, aren't they?"

"Why do you have to be such a good father?" Renee asked as she looked up at him. Wilder smiled and kissed her forehead.

"Because I have such an amazing daughter," he answered. "I wanted her to be proud to call me her father."

"I am proud."

At that moment, Cherit flew out of the mansion and over to the trio.

"Is everything alright out here?" he asked. "Everyone is worried."

"Tell them we're fine, Cherit," Sophie answered. "Tell them we'll come in soon."

With a nod, the little white Titan flew back the way he had come. Renee looked back and forth from her father to her sister.

"I'm glad you two are here," she said. "I don't know what I would have done."

"That's what families are for," Wilder said.

"Real families," Sophie added.

Renee smiled at them as she tried to forget about the events that were in the inevitable future.

$#%#$&amp;%^*()$^%#$^~ #$# %&amp;*^*()^&amp;IU^ %Q#%$~ #%! #$&amp;%#$&amp;!$%

Someone really needed to slap Lucas, and Renee was only too happy to.

I was going to have them just walk around at the ball, have one of them meet Lucas and talk to him, and then walk away while the other went and talked to him, having no knowledge of what the other had talked about, and have him totally freak out. But then I was listening to that song and these last two chapters were born.

That actually is the story of how I came to know that song. No one in my family knows that I know it. I don't want to know what their reactions would be.

Please review.


	21. Chapter 21

Disclaimer: I do not own "Huntik."

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Chapter 21: Back Off

Renee, Sophie, and Wilder were out in the gardens for fifteen more minutes before Renee's legs stopped aching enough that she felt like she could handle walking. Heading back into the mansion, they went straight for the ballroom, where Cherit said Lucas was.

The ballroom was large and grand, richly decorated and very well lit. Light reflected off of every surface, giving it a more heavenly glow. Opposite the door was a large sound system and DJ selecting and playing the songs that people were dancing to. On the other sides of the ballroom were round tables with chairs placed around them and long buffet tables with lots of food and drink.

Walking into the ballroom, their friends were the first to run over to them.

"Are you alright?"

"You were out there for a while."

"You want me to flatten Lucas for you?"

Renee laughed at that last one before assuring everyone that she was fine and had just needed a moment. With that, she looked around for Lucas and found him sitting at a table by himself and drinking glass after glass of champagne. Renee walked over to him and he looked up.

"Serena, I. . ." he started to say as he got up, wobbling a bit from all the drinking he had done.

"Don't talk," Renee said, interrupting him. "Just listen." After waiting for a few seconds to make sure that he did as she asked, she continued. "I may not remember you, but I have heard about you from my twin and her team. I met you a few times at the convention, though you didn't know who I was. Now that I've seen you for myself and heard what you have to say, I can make my own judgments.

"Sophie tells me that you tried to make her give up being a Seeker and a Casterwill."

"I didn't ask her to not be a Casterwill," Lucas spoke up. "That's not possible. She's a Casterwill by blood."

"She may be a Casterwill by blood and in name," Renee said, "but you wanted her to give up being a Casterwill in all other aspects. Being a Casterwill is about knowing ancient secrets and protecting them from falling into the wrong hands, about being a strong Seeker and a guardian of humanity. That's what you wanted her to give up. You said it was too dangerous and you didn't want her to get hurt. If you're thinking of trying to make me give up those same things, you can forget about it. You'll only be wasting your breath.

"I was kidnapped for an entire summer by a group of psychotic Seeker scientists, lived for eight months with one of those scientists and was almost raped by him, and then spent over a year traveling through Russia, parts of Asia, the Middle East, and a bit of Africa before finally reuniting with my father. I know the definition of dangerous. I also know that you can't hide from danger forever, even if you live a normal, Seeker-and-Titan-free life. It's just not possible. I could be hit by a bus or crushed by falling bricks or caught in a violent storm that tears up trees by their roots. I'm not safe anywhere from anything. All I can do is take the punches and roll with them.

"And as for you being the one in charge of me: also not going to work. First off, I am an adult now and am perfectly capable of making my own decisions. Second, you haven't seen me for fourteen years and I don't remember you. You can't just walk back into my life and tell me how to live. You don't know me, and you can't control me, so back off and let me live my life the way I want to live it."

Having said her piece, Renee walked off, leaving Lucas alone once again, and headed for the buffet tables. All this drama was making her hungry. Her friends, sister, and father joined her and filled up their plates before finding an empty table and sitting down.

"Are you alright?" Wilder asked his daughter after they sat down. "You said quite a bit."

"I'm fine," Renee answered. "I said what I wanted to say and what needed to be said. Hopefully he got the message."

"If he doesn't say anything after a week, then maybe he did," Sophie said. "He may freak out about those two years after you were kidnapped and decide to control you no matter what you say."

"I'd like to see him try."

While they were eating, Metz and Guggenheim came over.

"Excuse me, Renee," Guggenheim began, "but the Council is wondering how you managed to bond with Alicorn when so many Seekers before you have tried and failed."

"You bonded with Alicorn?"

Everyone at the table turned to see Lucas standing there, staring at Renee with shock and curiosity. She ignored him and turned back to Metz and Guggenheim.

"I'd be happy to answer that for you," she said. "Alicorn explained it to me. All the Seekers who tried to bond with her before wanted the same thing I did: her healing powers. The legends claim that the horn of a unicorn could cure all manner of maladies and injuries. Alicorn is able to do just that. She can also give new life to a Titan that has been defeated in battle and sent back to its amulet. They wanted to use her in fights against enemy Seekers, to keep their allies in perfect health and ensure that they wouldn't run out of Titans to invoke.

"But that's not what her power is meant to be used for. The legends say that the unicorns were hunted to extinction for their horns, an entire species of magical creature wiped out because of the greed of man. Unicorns would naturally heal people who were ill, and their power never faded while they were alive, but men didn't care about that. They only cared about themselves. Unicorns could only be tamed by a woman, a maiden who was pure and fair, one who was not greedy for the power of a unicorn's horn.

"Alicorn bonded with me because I didn't have a greedy reason for wanting her power. All I wanted was for her to heal my father. I would have happily given her right back to the Huntik Foundation afterwards, but she decided to stay with me. She'd been waiting for someone like me to come along with an intention that was pure. The intentions of those who came before me were not.

"Does that explain it well enough for you?"

There was silence for a minute as everyone processed her story. Wilder, after hearing about how his daughter had searched for a way to heal him, a way that might not have even worked, was close to tears.

"It explains everything perfectly," Metz finally said. "I hope Alicorn is happy with you, and I hope that, when the time comes, you find the right person to pass her on to."

Renee smiled and nodded, then listened carefully as a new song came on. Her smile got bigger as she recognized the song: "My Little Girl," by Tim Mcgraw.

"Daddy, come on." Renee grabbed Wilder's hand and pulled him onto the dance floor, not giving Lucas so much as a glance as she passed him.

Lucas, seeing as how he was not welcome, walked back to his own table and poured another glass of champagne. Everyone else at the table watched as the daddy-daughter couple danced, talked, and laughed. When the song ended, they walked back to their table and the conversations moved to other topics. The rest of the evening went by smoothly, with no more dramatic encounters.

!$## %&amp;*^%*)(*&amp;$^*#^$~ #$^%T&amp;Y)*(*^&amp;%^$# ~%! &amp;%^%$(* %$!%&amp;#$%^

This is now, officially, the longest fanfiction I have ever written, at least for one story. That's not counting sequels. I might do just one more chapter to wrap things up and then end it.

And Renee gives Lucas a good talking-to. What did you think? Will Lucas leave her alone? What did you think about the story of Alicorn and why she bonded with Renee? Please review.

Seriously, please review. I haven't gotten any reviews for the last two chapters. I don't know what you guys think of where the story is going, especially with Lucas.


	22. Chapter 22

emyy220: No, Lucas is not going to die of alcohol poisoning.

Disclaimer: I do not own "Huntik."

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Chapter 22: Starting Over

The next morning, everyone flew home.

Although Grier had now given Wilder permission to leave the island at anytime, he had decided to stay on Sutos. He didn't think he'd be able to go back to the life he'd been living the last two years, seeing as how he no longer was trying to become leader of the Organization. Plus, Renee was loving the island. And so they slowly had all their belongings shipped over from Prague and settled down in the house Grier had given them, the same house the Huntik team had stayed in.

After catching Renee hanging around the stables several times, Grier finally gave her a job there. Her task was to tame and train young horses, which wasn't an easy job and one that had caused many previous employees to quit. But Renee didn't give up. She was a pretty darn good rider, and no horse was ever able to buck her off. She was gentle with them, but also firm, but not so firm as to be considered cruel. She had horses trained with a saddle and bridle within a week.

The fact that she was able to communicate with them helped a lot, especially with the more difficult horses. As it turned out, Pegasus, Hippocampus, and Alicorn were siblings. Bonding with one or two of them would allow a Seeker to sense the thoughts of the animals around them. Bonding with all three allowed the Seeker to actually talk with the animals and be able to understand them. When a Seeker didn't have all three, which animals they could read depended on the Titan. Pegasus gave you a connection with air creatures, Hippocampus with water creatures, and Alicorn with land creatures. Renee now had the whole trio.

The Huntik team had promised to visit, and they kept that promise. The first time they visited, the Casterwill elders joined them so that they could officially meet Renee. Sophie led them to the "Wild House," as Renee called their home in her emails and phone calls, and caught the occupants in the middle of a training session.

"Poisonfang!"

Renee leapt out of the way and shot a Touchram at Wilder, who dodged and pulled out two amulets.

"Incubane, Grand Façade!"

The Titans emerged from their amulets and landed on either side of Renee, who barely glanced at them as she smirked at her father.

"Only two Titans, Dad? You insult me." She pulled out an amulet of her own: a brown, right-side up horseshoe with a red gem in the middle and surrounded by a gold circle. "Make them fear, Night Mares!"

Three Titans emerged from the amulet: horses made from black sand with glowing golden eyes **(A/N: just picture the Night Mares that Pitch uses in "Rise of the Guardians")**. Immediately, two of the Night Mares completely surrounded Wilder's Titans, who began to cower and fell to their knees before returning to their amulets. The Night Mares then stood behind Renee, facing Wilder and waiting for their Mistress' next command.

"The Night Mares can sense the fears of any Titan or Seeker," Renee explained, "and traps them in a dream-like state where they are put into a situation that makes those fears come to life. The only way to escape the simulation is to conquer those fears. It's like the final test for Dauntless Initiates."

"You always were a Divergent fan," Wilder said.

"I'm not just a fan of Divergent," Renee said with a smile. "I _am _Divergent."

"I don't doubt it." Wilder turned and noticed their audience. "Enjoying the show?"

"I'm enjoying watching my twin sister kick your butt, if that's what you mean," Sophie said with a smile.

"Not that hard to do," Renee said as she called back the Night Mares. "He's not challenging enough for me."

"Is he supposed to be training you," Lok asked, "or are you training him?"

"Please keep in mind that I'm the one who trained her to be a Seeker in the first place," Wilder said.

"I'm still a stronger Seeker than you," Renee reminded him.

"Those two years must have taught you a lot," Harrison suggested.

"I could kick his butt even before I was kidnapped. The teacher can't fail the student for being smarter than they are."

"I beg to differ," Wilder said with a frown and a distant look I his eyes, one that Renee had seen plenty of times. She knew that he was thinking back to his childhood as an orphan in America.

"I thought the Night Mares were under a curse," Viviane said, looking at Renee. "It prevented anyone from taking them from their resting place. How did you get them?"

"It was one of the tests that the scientists gave me after I was kidnapped," Renee explained as she and Wilder led everyone into the house. "There _was _a curse on them: anyone who so much as touched the amulet was sent into a deep sleep, where they had to face each and every one of their greatest fears."

"Isn't that what the Night Mares already do to their enemies?" Focauld asked. As Elder of the House of Knowledge, he was very interested in what Renee was saying. The Rune Guardian was also listening closely.

"Yes," Renee answered, "but the Titans and/or Seekers know that what they're experiencing isn't real. That wasn't the case with the curse." By now, the group had entered the house. As everyone else took a seat around the living room, Renee got out a plate of lemon bars that she had baked fresh that morning. She continued her story after placing the treats with easy reach of everyone. "The curse convinced your mind that what you were experiencing was actually happening to you. Plus, as I said before, the curse made you experience each and every one of your greatest fears. The Night Mares, during battle, only make you experience one or two."

"What happened to those who were unable to escape the curse's simulation?" Teien asked.

"They died," Renee stated. "If they couldn't overcome their fears, then they remained in that deep sleep. They would eventually die of dehydration and starvation."

"And you were able to overcome such a curse?" Den asked, looking at Renee with awe and respect.

"I am not without fears," Renee answered. "I just know that I can't allow those fears to control me. I'm also not the kind of girl who just sits back and lets horrible things happen to her. I'm the kind of girl who takes action, who takes control of her own destiny." Wilder looked at his daughter with pride.

"If the Night Mares allow an enemy to _know _that what they're experiencing is not real, wouldn't it be easy for them to escape the simulation?" Focauld asked.

"To escape the simulation, one must face their fears," Renee explained. "You have to face them the way a Dauntless would, not the way a Divergent would."

"I'm afraid that I'm unfamiliar with the Divergent world," Focauld told her. "Please elaborate."

"Let's say, for example, that you're afraid of heights," Renee said. "You suddenly find yourself several stories off the ground, on a very narrow beam that connects two buildings. If you know that it's just a simulation, what would be your first action in order to escape it?"

"I would jump."

"Wrong! That's what a Divergent would do. A Dauntless would walk across the beam and over to the building. If you jumped, you would just find yourself back up on that beam, and possibly higher than you were before."

"So you're Dauntless?"

Everyone turned to see Lucas standing in the doorway, staring at Renee.

"I am Dauntless," Renee said, "but I'm also Abnegation and Erudite. I'm still working on Amity and Candor."

"Are you saying that you're not honest with me all time?" Wilder asked his daughter with a frown.

"Oops." The audience laughed as Renee said that one word.

"If you don't mind," Lucas said before Wilder could start chasing Renee around the house, "I would like to have a word alone with my sisters."

Renee and Sophie looked at each other for a second, trying to decide whether or not that was a good idea. Finally, Renee shrugged and stood up, walking past Lucas and out of the house. Sophie followed her, and Lucas followed them. Renee led them down to the beach and sat down in the sand. Sophie sat down next to her while Lucas remained standing.

"I. . .," he began, and faltered for a minute. "I'm sorry." The girls waited for him to continue with stoic looks. "I know that no amount of apologies can make up for what I've done to you, but it's the truth.

"You were right, Serena. I am a coward, and I am brainless, but I am not completely heartless. I did what I did because I thought that that was the only way to protect you from the dangers that go along with being a Casterwill. I never, for a moment, thought about what you wanted or what you had already been through. I was just trying to be a good brother, to preserve what remained of those two innocent little girls I remembered. But you're not those girls anymore, and that's what I refused to acknowledge. I was an idiot. I know that now.

"I won't try to convince you to give up being a Seeker, and I'll try to stay out of your lives from now on."

"Whoa, hold up!" Renee interrupted. "Who said we wanted you out of our lives completely? We just don't want you telling us what we should and shouldn't be or do. We want you to accept us for who we are and respect our decisions." She paused before standing up and facing Lucas. "I have no memories before the fire that killed our parents, but I'm trying to get them back. I want to remember what you were like before you became the selfish and arrogant jerk that you are today."

"She's right," Sophie said, standing up and joining her twin. "I barely remember what you were like in those days, but I do remember you. I've seen families where the siblings don't talk to each other anymore. They end up hating, even despising, one another. I don't want us to be like that. I want us to be a family again."

Lucas stared at the two girls in front of him, so different in some ways and yet so similar. They were both wise beyond their years, both strong in spirit. It would have destroyed them if they had listened to him. He didn't want that.

"If you two are willing to let me in," he said, "then I'll try not to be so overprotective and selfish."

"You should try doing that regardless of how we act," Renee said, "but I guess it's a start. Just don't think that you're forgiven. For now, you're on probation."

"For how long?" Lucas asked.

"That depends entirely on you."

Lucas smiled at his sisters before hugging the two of them. They hugged him back.

"If you three are done having your heart-to-heart, we're running out of lemon bars in here!" Wilder shouted from the house.

"I've got plenty of ingredients to make a few more batches!" Renee shouted back. "We're coming! Just be patient for a minute!" Wilder disappeared back into the house and Renee sighed. "He's probably really disappointed. Those lemon bars were supposed to be for just the two of us."

"If you're even half as good a cook as he said you were," Sophie said with a smile, "then I don't blame him."

"Then let's go," Lucas said, wrapping his arms around their shoulders as they walked back the way they'd come. "I'd actually like to get to know him more. He is, after all, the man who raised my sister."

"I'm sure you two will get along just fine," Renee told him before giving Sophie a look that said "Not gonna happen." Sophie laughed and Lucas frowned at her.

_Why do I feel like I've just become the butt of an inside joke? _he thought.

The trio walked back into the house, ready to start over.

!#%$^&amp;*(*&amp;)%$&amp;#^^ ~ $^#$%$&amp;(^&amp;_)%^&amp;$%&amp;%~ #$%!#&amp;%#%^$&amp;(&amp;^%$(*^%!

The End!

So what did you think? Did you like all the Divergent references? How was the conversation between the siblings? Did the story end well? Review and let me know and I'll try to answer all of them.

Amalthea Shine.


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